Showdown at the LOUD Corral
by cabgrant
Summary: At the Franklin Avenue Fourth of July Block Party, the Loud sisters misconduct caused Rita and Lynn Sr. to employ drastic measures to punish the girls. Conflicts arise when the some of the sisters rebel against the rules and Lynn Jr. and Lola show resentment towards Lincoln.
1. Chapter 1

**There have been recent developments with the Loud family during Season 3 so this story is being rewritten to include these developments. Since going on vacation in the special "Tripped", that must have been after school ended for the summer, so in this story Lynn Sr. opened his restaurant before the family went on vacation.**

June 8th

"Ten…nine…eight…seven…six…five…four…three…two…one," Lincoln, Clyde, Rusty and most of their classmates whispered as they tried not to look at the time on the classroom clock.

"BBRIINNGG!" The clock on the wall showed one p.m.

Instantly every student rose out of their chairs and emitted a round of cheers and hurrahs as they raced out of the classroom towards their lockers. 'No more school, no more school," some kids chanted joyfully. Their summer vacation had begun today.

As best friends Lincoln and Clyde rushed to their lockers among the crowd of grateful students some kids started talking about the plans they or their parents had in store for them during the two and a half months of summer. This was the last day for Clyde, Lincoln and their classmates at Royal Woods Elementary because in late August they would be starting a new chapter of their academic career at Royal Woods Middle School.

Lincoln and Clyde opened their lockers, removed some items and placed them in their backpacks. They didn't take long to empty their lockers since every year they always made sure to clear their lockers a little at a time during the last four days of school. It took ten seconds for Lincoln to remove the other items and place them in his backpack.

"Done," Lincoln declared in a slight boastful manner as he closed his locker.

"Me too," Clyde declared while zipping up his backpack. A friend Stella approached them.

"Hey guys I wish the both of you a nice summer," she told them.

"Thanks Stella," both boys said simultaneously.

"I wish you a safe journey, Stella," Clyde said

"Me too remember to bring back souvenirs for us," Lincoln said.

Stella was traveling with her family to the Philippines to attend a relatives wedding in three days and would spend two weeks over there.

"I will, thanks guys, she replied graciously, then added, "Well I have to clear my locker bye

"Bye Stella," they said together before she departed.

As Lincoln and Clyde walked through the doors of Royal Woods Elementary school for the last time, they noticed one of Clyde's dads car parked a few feet away. Lincoln's friend informed him that morning before classes started that Harold would pick them up after school so that they could go home in comfort.

"Bye Stella, both boys said simultaneously before rushing over to the red vehicle and climbed into the back seat.

"Hello dad," Clyde chimed.

"Hello Mr. McBride," Lincoln added.

"How was your last day at school kids?" Harold asked them. After telling their stories they started talking excitedly about their plans for the summer. Lincoln got his first summer job working three days a week for four hours each day at the restaurant his dad Lynn Sr. just opened. Harold dropped them off at the McBride residence before heading back to his job. Lincoln would spend some hours hanging out with Clyde playing video games since the Loud's were leaving tomorrow for a long awaited family vacation, then walk home for some relaxation before dinnertime. The restaurant Lynn's Table would be closed for the entire week to give the other employees the week off.

Later at the Loud House…

"Kids, dinner's ready," Lynn Sr. called from the bottom of the stairs. Within seconds Lincoln's sisters except Lily rushed down the stairs. Lincoln waited until the dust cleared before going downstairs.

"What are we having for dinner," Lana questioned her dad as the children entered the dining room.

"I bought home spaghetti and meatballs from the restaurant," Lynn Sr. responded.

Lincoln and his sisters sat down. That moment their mother Rita arrived home from her job as a dental assistant. While everyone enjoyed their meal the parents asked a few questions about their day at school. Once everyone had finished their delicious meal, the children were about to rush off when Rita spoke.

"Wait a moment, kids your father and I have to discuss some important matters," Rita told her kids.

"First, we'd like to mention that today was Lincolns last day at elementary school and that we are proud of him," Rita began.

Two days before, Lori attended her graduation ceremony at the high school.

The sisters all gave their congratulations to their brother.

"The next matter is about our upcoming family vacation," Lynn Sr. said.

(At this moment, Lynn Sr. talks about the upcoming vacation that's going to happen in the Loud House special "Tripped.")

"Remember we're leaving tomorrow so get to bed early," Rita reminded them.

Later…

While everyone were settled in their bedrooms, Lynn Jr was laying in bed bouncing her basketball on the wall on front of her.

"Lynn could you stop doing that and get some sleep," Lucy grumbled to her sister roommate Lynn.

"I can't sleep, I'm too excited about going on vacation," Lynn responded

"Sigh, could you at least find something quieter to do?" Lucy asked Lynn.

"Okay, okay," Lynn grumbled and placed the ball beside her bed.

She started doing some silent pushups on the floor and after thirty seconds decided getting a warm glass of milk might get her in the mood for sleep.

The next day…Saturday 9th

The Loud family leaves for the family vacation taking place in the Loud House special 'Tripped'.

The family was unaware of the fact that a neighbor who lived in the house across from 1216 Franklin Avenue was watching the Loud's from her living room window.

"Good, they're leaving." she thought, then became surprised when Rita left the van and rushed back inside the house.

"Oh she must have forgotten something," she mused.

"Good grief, she forgot the baby," she thought when Rita returned with Lily.

Once Lynn Sr. drove off the woman yelled, "SIMON, THEY'RE GONE."

A male in his late forties emerged from the kitchen area wearing an apron.

"Thank God, things will be quiet around here for a week without those noisy brats disturbing the peace," Simon remarked joyfully.

June 17th…

"Thank God we're home," Rita declared gratefully as Lynn Sr. stopped a newly restored Vanzilla in the driveway. It was 6:00 pm. They departed from the hotel that morning at nine a.m. for the long drive home.

"Hooray," the Loud kids chanted, except the five younger girls who were fast asleep and Leni woke them up.

"After we go inside and have a snack, Lori and Lincoln could you help me unload all our luggage," Lynn Sr. as everyone departed from Vanzilla with Rita holding Lily who was still asleep.

Once inside the house, Rita requested, "Kids could you step into the living room for a moment," before they had the chance to go upstairs.

She and Lynn Sr. stood before them while the children sat on the couch.

"We just want to thank you kids for not fighting with each other or misbehaving even once while on vacation," Rita said.

"We're proud that you didn't run around disturbing the other guests and waited patiently in the long buffet line for breakfast," Lynn Sr. added.

"That's all, now let's get something to eat," Rita said. Everyone gratefully went upstairs to wash their hands.

Later…

While the sisters watched an episode of "Audition," Lincoln was in his bedroom relaying to Clyde everything that went wrong while the family were travelling to their vacation destination. Lynn Sr. had just returned from their neighbor Mr. Grouse with the mail he asked the elderly man to pick up while the family were on vacation.

The parents decided to retire to bed early then read the mail in bed after taking much needed showers.

After settling down in bed, they began opening the mail. When Rita noticed the address on the upper left corner of one envelope, she panicked a little. It read "Franklin Avenue Neighborhood Association." (the address follows) "Lynn, we've got a letter from the Neighborhood Association," Rita declared.

"You think it's a letter asking us to join," Lynn Sr. asked. Rita opened the letter and scanned over it.

'They're having a Fourth of July Block Party," Rita answered. She read…

Dear Neighbors,

Join us at Franklin Avenue Neighborhood Associations first Fourth of July Block Party from 3 p.m. until 9 p.m.

There will be entertainment for everyone including a Bounce House and games for the kids.

Burgers and snacks provided. Burgers will be served at 4:00 p.m.

RSVP: Mrs. Cheryl Winters (insert phone number) so we can know in advance how many burgers to make for your family.

"We should go dear, at least you'll get a break from cooking this year and you don't have to open the restaurant," Rita said.

"Okay, you can call Cheryl tomorrow," Lynn Sr. replied.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Next morning…June 18th

Lynn Sr. woke up feeling refreshed at eight a.m. He glanced over to his right and noticed Rita wasn't there. At the moment, Rita was currently watching a morning news program and drinking coffee. She had another week of vacation leave while he was opening the restaurant tomorrow. Lynn Sr. had decided Lynn's Table would be closed on Sundays to allow his staff to rest on the Sabbath.

"Hmm tomorrow is Lincoln's birthday," he thought after a while. Everyone bought birthday cards for Lincoln before leaving on vacation.

It was ten-thirty a.m. when Lincoln was roused from sleep by noises some of his sisters were making in the upstairs hallway. Lincoln would begin working at the restaurant on Wednesday this week. Leni already left for her job at Royal Woods mall and Rita was out taking Charles for a walk.

He sighed in frustration.

"Well no more sleep for me," he muttered with annoyance as he got out of bed and stepped outside of his bedroom. In the hallway, Lincoln nearly missed Lola driving over his feet as she drove her pink toy car.

"Hops, get back here," Lincoln heard Lana shouting as he noticed her pet frog leaping out of her room. The amphibian was heading towards Lincoln. "Help me catch him Lincoln," Lana commanded. A few seconds later he was able to grab the errant Hops and handed the frog over to his sister.

Lana thanked her brother. "No problem," he replied then washed his hands before getting dressed then going downstairs to fix breakfast.

Few minutes after Lincoln finished breakfast Luan woke up feeling quite rested. While dressing the comedian wondered, "I wonder who I should prank today."

Luan thought for a few seconds then thought Lincoln.

"But I wonder what kind of prank," she thought.

She walked out of her room and while passing Lincoln's door she heard someone in the bathroom turning on the shower.

Suddenly Luan remembered Lincoln usually showered around this time when school was out and a devious smile crossed her face as an idea came to her.

Luan slipped into the bathroom silently then quickly grabbed the only two clean towels hanging on the rack then slipped back out again. She rushed downstairs after putting the towels on her bed. Actually, Lincoln had woken up around seven that morning and was unable to go back to sleep so he decided to take a bath while everybody else was still asleep.

Three minutes later Luan was eating some cereal. Just then Lincoln walked into the dining room. He was just coming back inside from a short walk.

"Morning," Lincoln said calmly to his sister before entering the kitchen. She wasn't really paying attention to who spoke then suddenly realized it was Lincoln.

Luan placed a hand to her open mouth. "Then who is in the bath..." Her question was answered at that very moment.

"HEY WHO'S THE WISE GUY WHO STOLE THE TOWELS," Luna shouted, "SOMEONE GET ME A TOWEL!" Luan rushed back upstairs to retrieve one of the towels. Luan was hiding behind the door when Luan entered.

"Oh sorry about that Luna I thought you were Lincoln," she said sheepishly.

Luna snarled at her sister and grabbed the towel.

June 19th

Lincoln woke up to the sounds of silence. Suddenly he remembered today was his twelfth birthday. He wasn't in the mood to rise yet even though it was nine a.m. Lincoln sat up and stretched a little before laying his head back on his pillow.

"I'm so thankful that I start work tomorrow" he thought contentedly.

Five minutes later, Luna knocked on the door.

"Who's there," the boy called out.

"Hey little bro could you come downstairs? You have a visitor," Luna answered.

Lincoln dragged himself from under the sheets and went to open the door and was surprised to see twelve people wearing huge smiles on their faces.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY LINCOLN," everyone shouted happily before Lincoln could say anything.

"Thanks guys," he managed to blurt out, then Rita kissed him on his right cheek after telling him happy birthday again.

"How does it feel to be twelve son?" Lynn Sr. asked his son in a jovial manner.

"I don't feel any different than yesterday," Lincoln said simply.

His parents chuckled a little at the naive statement. "Wash your hands and come downstairs for your birthday breakfast," Rita told him.

Everyone in the family always had special breakfasts made by another family member on their birthdays every year.

Lincoln rushed downstairs after washing his hands. The smell of bacon was in the air once he entered the dining area. As Lincoln sat in his chair at the table, Lynn Sr. carried a tray with a plate filled with two pancakes, one fried egg and some bacon.

"Enjoy your breakfast son," he said and smiled at Lincoln.

Later when he returned to his bedroom Lincoln noticed nine birthday cards laying on his dresser. A pink card that was obviously hand made with a large heart drawn crookedly on the front stood out from the rest.

"This had to be made by Lola," he surmised, then picked up the card.

He opened it and inside the card, Lana and Lola had written this message in their childlike handwriting, "To the best brother in the whole world," with their names written under the message. Lincoln closed the card then opened a green colored one.

It was from his sporty sister Lynn. Lori peeped through his bedroom door at that moment while he read the card.

"Lincoln, Pop-Pop's on video chat and wants to tell you Happy Birthday," Lori said.

He dropped the card on the table and followed Lori. The downstairs computer was on and he saw his grandfather's smiling face on the screen.

"Hey kiddo happy birthday!" Pop-Pop greeted his grandson warmly, "How are you doing today?"

"I'm fine Pop-Pop," Lincoln said happily, "And how are you?"

"Oh everything's okay with me kiddo. Today me and the other residents are getting medical check-ups," the elderly man replied.

"That's a good thing," Lincoln said.

"Have you received your birthday card and money I sent?" Pop-Pop then asked.

Every year Lincoln received a birthday card with money from his grandfather either in the mail or in person.

"Not yet," Lincoln replied, "I'll check the mailbox today."

"I also put in an extra five dollars instead of the usual twenty," Pop-Pop said.

"Thanks Pop-Pop," Lincoln said in gratitude.

Then Lincoln saw a nurse approach his grandfather.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your talk with your grandson but the doctor is here," she said.

"Sorry kiddo but I have to go, enjoy the rest of your birthday," Pop-Pop told Lincoln.

When Lincoln turned off the computer he headed back to his room to read the rest of the cards.

Clyde just finished having lunch with his father Howard who worked at home sometimes the during school holidays. When Clyde was done washing the lunch dishes, he went into his bedroom and called Lincolns number.

At the moment Lincoln was watching YouTube videos on his laptop.

"Hey Lincoln Happy Birthday," he almost shouted when his friend answered.

"Thanks Clyde," Lincoln said.

"Doing anything special today?" Clyde inquired.

"No I'll use the opportunity to hog the TV all to myself," Lincoln replied.

The next morning Lincoln arrived with his father at Lynn's Table at nine. He followed Lynn Sr. into his office where on the desk was a time sheet with Lincoln's name and handed the boy a pen and told him to write in the time he arrived.

"Please sign in every morning and sign out every afternoon. You have a ten minute break at 11:15 and another at 1:10. At twelve you get thirty minutes for lunch."

"Let's give you something easy to start with," Lynn Sr. said. The boy followed his father into the large kitchen. Lynn Sr. walked to a counter with ketchup bottles and one industrial sized one with a spout.

"Wash your hands then fill these bottles with ketchup from the large one then put two of them in the center of each table," Lynn Sr. instructed. "Take your time. If you need anything ask Grant or Rudy," he added then departed.

Lincoln donned a pair of disposable gloves and an apron and started working.

"Hey Lincoln its twelve o'clock," Grant told him while heading in the dining room to clear a table. He followed Grant into the clean employee lounge.

After lunch everyone returned to work with Lincoln being asked to help throw out expired food from the walk in refrigerator.

At 1:00 p.m. Lynn Sr approached Lincoln as he was about to clear another table.

"Lincoln time to take you home", he told his son.

"Thank goodness I'm totally exhausted," Lincoln thought to himself. A few minutes' later father and son arrived home

"Hey Lincoln how was work?" Luan greeted her brother cheerily as he stepped inside the house.

"Luan all I want to do is go upstairs and lie down," he said tiredly while heading towards the stairs. Once Lincoln closed his bedroom door he flopped wearily on his bed after removing his sneakers.

"At least I never had to clean the bathrooms," he thought. Lincoln closed his eyes and block all thoughts from his mind. Lincoln soon fell asleep then woke up a few hours later just in time for dinner.


	3. Chapter 3

Rita returned home with the younger girls from the library at 2:30 that afternoon. Luna, Luan and Lynn Jr. were hanging out in the living room playing a board game while Lily was sleeping in her room.

Before leaving on vacation, Rita discovered the library had a story-time hour for kids one to ten years old from Tuesdays to Thursdays from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Generally the parents just allowed the children to relax at home every summer instead of sending them to summer camp or other activities. After story hour, the girls would go for lunch the library provided for children during the summer while Rita worked on editing her novel in one of the study rooms. After lunch the girls went to the children's section and read books until Rita came at 2:30 p.m. to take them home.

"I wonder if Lincoln's home," Rita thought as the younger girls ran upstairs to their bedrooms. She peered into his bedroom and discovered him asleep, then headed towards Lori's bedroom. The oldest child looked up from her laptop when she heard the door opening.

"Hi Mom, I just finished working on my resume like you asked me," Lori responded. She had spent most of the day after breakfast finding resume examples online and preparing her own.

Since Lynn Sr. could only afford to pay three employees and Lincoln at the moment, Lori was searching for a summer job to do on the weekdays then she'd assist at the restaurant for three hours on Saturday afternoons for thirty dollars.

"Good job Lori, I'll look it over tonight," Rita told her daughter.

It was close to dinnertime when Lincoln finally awoke. He returned to his bedroom after washing his face then read some comics before his mom or dad summoned everyone to the dinner table. A few minutes later Rita was shouting, 'Kids dinner's ready," from the bottom of the stairs.

That evening, Rita asked everyone to stay for a while after they had eaten dessert.

"Lincoln, your father and I talked last night about giving you a pizza and video game party on Saturday for your birthday. We invited Clyde and asked him for your other friend's numbers," Rita announced. Lincoln gave them a surprised expression.

"Since you're not working on Friday I'm taking you shopping even though I bought things for you with the card Mr. Kling gave us at the hotel," Rita told him.

(The Cherry king in the Loud House special "Tripped.")

Lincoln's eyes gleamed with excitement. "Thanks mom and dad you're the best," ran up to his parents, Rita first and hugged them.

June 21st

It was 1:05 p.m. at the library. The children just returned from playing after lunch and were picking out books to read. Lola noticed a classmate Sierra carrying a book Lola was reading yesterday but Rita arrived before Lola reached the second page.

She rudely snatched the book away from Sierra and shouted, "I want this book."

The children's librarian Mrs. Russo was shocked by the awful display of bad manners and walked hastily over to the girls.

"Excuse me I don't tolerate that kind of behavior, is your mother nearby?" she asked. Lisa and Lana saw the entire display.

"She's in the library working on her book somewhere," Lola explained.

"What's your mother's name?" Mrs. Russo asked.

"Rita Loud," she replied. Mrs. Russo returned to her desk and turned on the intercom.

At the moment Rita was looking through the window to rest her eyes from looking at the computer when suddenly she received an announcement…

"Mrs. Loud, please come to the children's section."

Rita became surprised for a moment then panicked a little.

"I hope it's nothing serious," she thought while logging off her laptop then went downstairs as quickly as possible.

Entering the children's section she noticed Lola sitting beside Mrs. Russo's counter with her arms folded defiantly and looking arrogant.

"Hello I'm Rita Loud," she told Mrs. Russo.

"Your daughter grabbed a book from another child, so she cannot come back until she learns to follow our rules," Mrs. Russo told her resolutely. Rita became mortified upon hearing that but remained silent.

"What am I going to do with you Lola," Rita scolded her while walking through the lobby with her daughters. Lucy, Lana and Lisa were definitely annoyed with their diva sister because they had to leave because of Lola's rudeness.

"You're grounded until tomorrow and Sunday. You're not allowed to have tea parties and no dessert after dinner," Rita declared.

"Who cares," Lola said flippantly. Rita called an uber since Lynn Sr. had Vanzilla. Five minutes later a car arrived.

Lincoln was given the same assignment of filling the ketchup bottles and putting them on the tables that morning. He was mostly decorating tables in the mornings and bussing tables after diners have eaten. His work schedule was Mondays to Thursdays starting next week since he wanted Fridays off to hang out with his friends. Lynn Sr. drove him home at 1:30 p.m. Lincoln was surprised to find the younger girls except Lola watching TV when he walked inside. Later Clyde came over to have dinner with the Louds since his fathers were working overtime.

The next day Lincoln and Rita departed for the mall at 10:30 a.m. by taking the bus. Rita bought a new dress shirt for him and a new pair of sneakers. They bought birthday cards for Lucy since her birthday was next Monday. After spending an hour at the mall, Rita called an uber to pick them up at the entrance.

"Lincoln you got some birthday cards in the mail I placed them on your dresser," Lori said when Rita and Lincoln returned home.

Lincoln threw the shopping bags on his bed, opened a blue envelope with Pop-Pop's handwriting and found twenty five dollars inside the card. He decided to spend the five dollars at the hobby store and save the twenty dollars, then opened the cards sent by his Aunt Sara and Uncle Lucas and one sent by his Aunt Shirley with ten dollars inside.

Saturday… Lincoln's party

Lincoln slept until 10:00 a.m. that morning. His party was at four that afternoon.

While he sat on the couch eating Zombie Bran cereal for breakfast, Rita and Lynn Sr. left for the supermarket to pick up his birthday cake. Kentauro was in charge of the restaurant today.

Two hours later Lori and Leni were hanging up a "Happy Birthday Lincoln" banner from his seventh birthday and Luna was vacuuming when Lincoln walked in from walking Charles while the other sisters were cleaning and decorating the table.

Rusty and Zach arrived at 3:55 p.m exactly. Rita answered the doorbell and invited them inside. Clyde and five other boys Liam, Chad, Jordan, Artie and Trent were talking to Lincoln in the living room. Lincoln was dressed in a light green casual shirt Rita bought that morning and new brown dress pants.

"Happy Birthday Lincoln!" Rusty and Liam said in unison as they walked into the room carrying presents.

It was four o'clock when Rita summoned everyone to gather around the dining table. In the center of the table was a birthday cake which had blue and orange icing and a smaller version of the cake.

After everyone sang Happy Birthday to Lincoln, he blew out the twelve candles after making a wish. The boys received two slices of pizza from Lynn Sr. and a piece of cake from Rita, then situated themselves in the living room where Rita served them fruit punch. Enjoying their food, the boys chatted about how they were spending the summer and after eating, Lincoln opened his birthday gifts.

Clyde picked up a particular game Rusty brought with him after Lincoln thanked his friends for their birthday gifts. "How about we play this game first?" he suggested.

Two hours later the party was over. Rita gave Rusty and Liam each a slice of cake from the smaller cake for their siblings Rocky and Cecilia (Cissy) and Lincoln escorted his friends to the door and thanked them for coming and wished them a safe journey home.

The day after Lincoln relaxed at home enjoying his birthday gifts. He received from Clyde two DVD's featuring episodes from the first TV series about Ace Savvy that ran from 1990-1991 and watched one at two that afternoon while the sisters went to the mall without Lola. He retired to bed early since he had to work tomorrow. Lynn Sr. bought Lucy a birthday cake after dinnertime.

Monday…

A typical summer weekday for Lynn Jr. consisted of the teenage athlete rushing off after a late breakfast with a duffel bag packed with sports equipment to play sports with her friends Margo and Polly at Ketcham Park. Luna and Lori made Lucy's birthday breakfast later that morning after Lincoln, Lynn Sr. and Rita left for work.

Lori stayed home to babysit the five younger girls. Leni departed at 9: 30 a.m. for her department store job at the mall. Almost every day, Luna visited her girlfriend Sam Sharpe and returned home at three p.m. Luan stayed home to rehearse for a children's birthday party she would perform at on Saturday afternoon.

After dinner, Rita returned from the kitchen with the round chocolate cake Lynn Sr. bought. They sang "Happy Birthday" to her, then Lucy blew out the nine candles. Lucy thanked everyone for the birthday cards and the gifts she received after the cake was eaten then rushed off to enjoy her special TV time.


	4. Chapter 4

The next evening at dinnertime Lori had a special announcement. She had emailed her resume to six companies last week including a call center located in the building where Rita worked but hadn't received a response from any until this afternoon.

"Mom and dad, today I got a call from someone at the call center. She asked me to come in for an interview on Thursday morning at nine o'clock," she said.

"Lori, that's wonderful," Rita said proudly.

"Congrats honey," Lynn Sr. added.

Lori rose from her seat. "See you later, I'm going to the mall to buy an outfit for the interview," she added.

"Lori, I' m coming with you. I'm paying for your outfit with my employee discount," Leni said.

"Thanks Leni," Lori replied.

Wednesday morning Luna took Lana, Lucy, and Lisa back to the library while Lori babysat Lola. On Thursday evening, Lori had more exciting news to share during dinner.

"So how was your interview today?" Lynn Sr. asked Lori while cutting into a piece of baked chicken.

The eighteen year old smiled, then almost squealed, "You won't believe this, I was literally hired on the spot." The others became elated upon hearing the news.

"He asked if I could start on Monday at 8:30," she added.

"I'm so proud of you dear," Rita told her daughter. Lynn Sr. and the other children gave their congratulations.

"I called Whitney and told her the news. She agreed to give me a ride to work in the mornings since she works there," Lori added. Both parents then gave her warm hugs.

Friday…

Elated about not having to work today, Lincoln rushed over to Clyde's house after wolfing down some Rice Krispies. They were going to their favorite hangout, Gus Games and Grub to hang with Rusty and Liam.

The two redheads were already sitting at their favorite booth when Lincoln and Clyde arrived. "Hey Lincoln, long time no see," Liam drawled.

"When is your job ending anyway?" Rusty asked as Lincoln and Clyde sat down.

Lincoln replied, "I have three more weeks after today," Yesterday his father paid him fifty dollars in cash for the two weeks already worked.

A waitress was over in two minutes and the boys ordered slices of pizza with their favorite toppings.

As they waited for their pizzas Molly, a classmate walked over to their booth. Molly was a "tomgirl," a word she coined for herself.

"Hi guys," the brown haired girl said cordially.

"Hi Molly," they all replied together.

"Hey Lincoln, Artie called me and said your party was a smash hit," Molly said.

"Yes we had pizza and popcorn and played video games," Liam replied.

"Guess what girl Jordan's leaving tomorrow with her parents to Disneyworld," Molly announced.

"Really wow she's so lucky," Rusty remarked. The others smiled.

Molly glanced at the front door and remarked, "Hilary and Kat's here have to go, enjoy the rest of your summer."

"Bye Molly," the boys said together. Their pizzas arrived and they enjoyed some of the arcade's games for hours after paying for their meals.

The weekend passed by without incident. Luan's performance at the birthday party was a smashing success. Lincoln found a party invitation for Zach's birthday on his dresser when he returned home.

Lincoln and Clyde went back to the arcade on Saturday and watched taped episodes of "ARGGH" at the McBride's house for hours on Sunday afternoon.

On Monday Lori felt right at home at her new job. It suited her since she spent practically most of her teenage years talking on the telephone anyway. Her friend Whitney who was employed there from two weeks ago, showed Lori around before clocking in.

Tuesday afternoon….

Simon and Barbara Kramer lived in the yellow house across the street from the Loud's for the past twelve years. Simon was going for a stroll when he noticed the sisters (except Lori and Leni) hanging up Fourth of July decorations on the front porch. Instead of helping her sisters, Lola was driving across the lawn in her little pink car. Barbara always questioned what parents would allow their child to wear a gown with gloves everyday even during hot weather.

He recalled one night while sitting on his porch seeing a red haired boy with a ponytail dashing out of the Loud's front door yelling, " I look like my mee maw," then Lola appearing and shouting something after the boy.

Regarding the Loud children, Simon noticed the white haired boy was the quieter and better behaved out of the whole bunch. Simon continued on his journey.

July 4th

Lynn Sr. always prepared a huge All-American breakfast on this day the United States declared their independence from Britain. This Fourth of July morning was no different. Rita had assisted her husband in the kitchen by making pancakes.

After drinking cocoa from red, white, and blue mugs, the kids thanked their parents for the morning feast. Lynn Jr. and Luan assisted Lynn Sr. with the cleaning up by washing the breakfast dishes while Rita settled down to watch a morning talk show.

It was now 3:15 p.m. and the family were leisurely taking their time getting ready for the party. Franklin Avenue had been blocked off since two hours ago to prevent vehicular traffic from using the street. The bounce house was set up the evening before. Mr. Winters and Mr. Hart, the President and Treasurer of the Association would be grilling the burgers. Mr. Grouse left Monday to spend the holiday with his family and would return this Sunday. Luan had contacted the organizers of the block party and asked if she could entertain the children by making balloon animals and they rented an extra table for her. Right now, she was setting up her station on the front lawn.

Rita stood at the bottom of the stairs carrying Lily who wore a cute purple sundress.

"Kids are you coming, it's after three," she yelled. Everybody except Lori and Leni appeared downstairs in seconds. The two older girls planned on arriving "fashionably late" like movie stars in new outfits bought on Saturday.

Lincoln used the opportunity to shower around noon while the sisters relaxed in their respective bedrooms. Right now, he was sitting on the couch watching TV.

"Wait, I forgot Hops," Lana remarked. Lola frowned at her twin sister.

"You don't have to take that slimy creature everywhere," Lola whined.

"I agree, don't take Hops with you," Rita demanded.

Lana released a long sigh. "Okay," was her reply.

Lincoln turned off the TV and followed the others, but Lana deliberately lagged behind and dashed into the dining room. When the door closed, Lana rushed upstairs and placed a sleeping Hops in the front pocket of her overalls.

"Here comes the Loud's," one lady remarked to her teenage daughter. The family walked towards a small crowd of people relaxing on lawn chairs. There was a basketball court next to Mr. Lambert's garage where some teenagers were just playing a casual game. Naturally, Lynn Jr. was elated but she decided to join them later. Lincoln spotted Clyde and Howard McBride in the distance then hurried towards them while Lola and Lisa headed towards someone who was entertaining children.

"Hi Clyde, Hi Mr. McBride," he greeted them. The friends rushed off to talk with some boys.

Lynn Sr. decided to assist Mr. Winters with setting up tables while Rita sat beside Mrs. Hart who lived near Mr. Grouse.

"Hello, Mrs. Loud how are you," Mrs. Hart asked.

"I'm doing well, I'm still working on my novel," Rita replied.

"How are your kids spending this summer, just lazing around and making noise?" Mrs. Hart inquired. Rita was oblivious to the fact the last five words were meant in a derisive way.

"Well Lincoln goes to work at the restaurant with his dad and our two oldest are working this summer," Rita answered.

Mrs. Hart raised an eyebrow in surprise since she was used to the Loud children being idle during the summer. "I see," she replied nonchalantly.

"And Luan has a lot of bookings to perform at birthday parties," Rita added.

"Jeffrey goes to summer school from nine a.m. to one in the afternoon and Stella goes to the day camp at the community center," Mrs. Hart said smugly.

"That's nice," Rita answered back.

"I heard your husband now works at Aloha Comrade," Mrs. Hart asked, "I heard the food is excellent."

"So how is Dr. Feinstein?" another woman asked.

Lucy

After walking around for a while, the Goth girl became intrigued upon noticing an elderly woman about seventy years old walking with her son and daughter-in-law.

"She's perfect," Lucy whispered, then approached the trio and introduced herself to the senior citizen.

"Hello, I'm Lucy. I live at 1216 Franklin Avenue. Would you mind coming over tomorrow and play a corpse at a practice funeral?" she asked.

Astonished looks came over the faces while the elderly lady gasped and placed her right hand over her mouth. "I beg your pardon," she blurted out.

"Take me to your parents," Mr. Miller said aghast. Lucy sighed then looked around and spotted her father.

The Loud father was having a conversation with Mr. Winters and Mr. Stewart about working in the restaurant business when Lucy, Mr. Miller and his mother appeared.

"Mr. Loud, may I have a word with you?" Mr. Miller.

Lynn Sr. gave a smile.

"Your kid just asked my mother to pretend to be a corpse at a play funeral," he told Lynn Sr. angrily. The father of eleven became shocked at what he just heard.

"That's not an appropriate thing to ask someone," Lynn Sr. scolded her, "Tell the lady you're sorry."

Lucy hung her head, "I'm sorry," then turned and walked away.

 **Mrs. Hart is based on the next door neighbor, the mother of Harley's friend in "Stuck in the Middle" who makes judgmental comments about the Diaz children to their mother.**


	5. Chapter 5

Lana

Only ten minutes remained until the delicious meal would be served. Mr. Winters and Mr. Stewart started grilling the burgers thirty minutes ago and were placing them in chafing dishes to keep warm. Mrs. Winters was placing large platters of burger buns on the table while Mrs. Stewart placed a huge bowl of potato salad. There was an assortment of pastries and dessert including three apple pies baked by Mr. Loud and a large chocolate cake. There was also a cooler with juice boxes for the smaller children and soda.

At the moment, Lori and Leni were just leaving the house. They spent the last thirty minutes experimenting with makeup. They found Lisa reading a book on the porch. The little genius felt leaping around in a bounce house was demeaning to someone of her intelligence. Meanwhile, the twins and six other children, including Susanna Hart were jumping around in the Bounce House shaped like a castle. Suddenly Susanna felt something clammy on her right shoulder, turned her head to the right to see Hops who was jostled awake by Lana's jumping. Susanna's eyes widened in terror.

"EEEK, A FROG!" she screamed, which frightened the other children and Hops. The frog leapt towards Lana while the other girls except Lola screamed and scrambled out of the Bounce House. Lana decided to take her beloved pet home before he frightened anymore kids.

The Loud parents were conversing with the Millers when the commotion started. They exchanged knowing glances. "Lana," they thought simultaneously.

Susanna frantically rushed to her mother's side and cried, "Mommy, a frog came from nowhere and jumped on me."

"It's all right honey," she consoled her daughter, then frowned a little.

"It's the messy twin's frog," she mused.

One time she was watering plants when she heard a girl shouting, "Hops, come back here." She turned around and saw a muddy Lana running then saw a green creature leaping towards her rose bushes. When Lana caught Hops, she said, "Sorry lady," before dashing off.

"Well I guess we have to wait for a while until the children calm down," Mr. Winters told his wife and Mr. Stewart.

##################################################################

Lisa

It was now 4:05 p.m. Luan's supply of balloons ran out so she went inside the house to take off her costume then change into her regular attire.

"Hello everyone welcome to our first Fourth of July Block Party. We're ready to serve this feast so if everyone would form a line to the left." Mr. Winters called through a megaphone.

Everyone would take a burger bun, then Mr. Winters would serve a burger patty and Mr. Stewart would serve a portion of potato salad. Rita had prearranged with Mrs. Winters for a slider to be made for Lily. She told Lisa and Lola to sit at a table with eight chairs that Lynn Sr. saved for the family. Luna, who had Lily the entire time in her stroller watching the children's entertainer, placed it beside Lola and Lisa.

"Lori could you get a burger for Lisa, while your father and I get Lily's slider and Lola's burger," Rita instructed. Lana had insisted on getting her own burger.

Lincoln and Clyde who spent this entire time playing video games with the three boys they met including a classmate, were among the first persons in line with Howard, while the other Louds were in the middle. Howard was going to take a plate of food home for his husband Harold. Mrs. Hart and her children were standing behind Leni.

While the line moved along, the Louds could hear Susanna pleading with her mother, "Mom could I get some soda? I'm tired of drinking juice."

"No sweetheart, you're getting juice," Mrs. Hart said gently.

"Just this one time mom, please," Susanna continued.

"The subject is closed," Mrs. Hart said firmly but in a low voice because she was starting to be self-conscious about everyone hearing her daughter whine. She didn't want her kids drinking soda because it led to burping.

"Sheesh, that poor child," Rita whispered to her husband.

Lincoln and Clyde walked to the Louds front porch and sat on the steps to enjoy their meal and sodas. Lori, Leni and Luna sat in lawn chairs next to the table to eat.

#################################################################

"This burger is excellent," don't you think Rita Lynn Sr. asked his wife after swallowing one bite.

"They're so juicy," Lynn Jr. admitted. She was eager to play another basketball match with the two teenage boys and girl she met.

When the smaller girls were done eating, Lola asked, "Mom could we please get cake now?"

"All right what would you like," Rita asked.

"Can I get a piece of the chocolate cake, and I want a corner piece," Lola demanded.

"Mother I also would like a slice of that delicious chocolate confection," Lisa asked.

Lucy and Lana accompanied Rita to get some of the cake and slices of their dads apple pie. The DJ had returned from eating and started back the music.

After eating dessert, Lucy returned home while Lana went to play with the boys from the Bounce House. Lola and Lisa decided to get their faces painted by another children's entertainer. The parents and four older girls decided to stay and enjoy the music but very soon, Rita needed to answer the call of nature.

When Rita returned she spotted Lisa in the distance. To her surprise, she heard Lisa asking Jeffrey, "Could I throw that away for you?" then Rita saw her take an empty plastic cup from him. When she saw Lisa swiping another empty cup from a table, Rita's surprise turned to suspicion. Recalling a certain incident a few months back, she walked swiftly to her daughter.

"Lisa," she began. Lisa turned around quickly.

"Where are you going with those cups young lady?" she accused the child.

"Well, er …" Lisa began, then gave a dishonest grin.

"Were you taking them home to get DNA samples from our neighbors?" Rita asked crossly but in a low tone of voice.

Rita said impatiently, "Don't lie to me." Lisa sighed, knowing she had no choice but to be honest.

"Okay mother, since my siblings have refused point blank to give me anymore samples of their DNA's, this was the perfect opportunity to procure samples from other humans," Lisa explained.

"Hand them over," Rita insisted. Lisa reluctantly gave the cups to her mother.

"Please sit with your father while I throw these away," Rita told her.

"And don't you leave that table," Rita called after Lisa walked away disappointed. Rita found the nearest garbage can and dumped the plastic cups.

Lola

It was almost six p.m. Most of the neighbors had returned to their homes to await the fireworks display at 8: 30 p.m. Some children were playing in the Bounce House while the remaining adults were chatting with each other. A 15 year old boy Aidan with blonde hair who wore a red jersey with the number 6 on the front approached a table with a piece of chocolate cake that was covered with another plastic plate.

While Aiden reached for the plate, he felt someone shoving him to the side then saw a pink gloved hand grabbing the plate. It was no other than Lola.

"Princesses first," Lola shouted arrogantly.

Aidan glared at her. "You know I was here first," he said crossly.

"Too bad," Lola said with a sing song voice.

Aiden wasn't about to let her walk away with the cake. He thought quickly.

"Well your shoelaces are untied," he said. Lola placed the cake on the table then looked down at her feet, then realized something.

"I don't wear laces," she declared, but as she looked up saw Aiden holding the plate.

"GIVE IT BACK YOU TROLL OR ELSE," she shouted.

Aidan wasn't scared of the aggressive girl. As she was about to attack him, Lori's angry voice was heard. "Hey nobody pushes around a Loud."

Aidan turned around and saw Lori, Leni, Luna, Luan, Lynn Jr, and Lisa stomping towards him with glares on their faces.

"Let me explain, I was about to take this piece of cake but Cinderella here snatched it from me," he said.

"LIES!" Lola shouted, "He grabbed it out of my hands."

"You're such a liar,' Aidan told her.

The other sisters began doubling their hands into fists and scowled even deeper.

"Who are you calling a liar,' Luna declared.

"Apologize to Lola," Leni demanded.

"For what," Aiden asked, "I'm telling the truth". The sisters became more irate.

"Do it or else," Lynn Jr. snarled, doubling her fists tighter.

Aidan became frustrated at their refusal to back down then placed the plate on the table quickly.

"Fine, she can have it," Aidan snapped, "My grandma told me all about you. You're all such weirdoes."

The sister's anger grew as they heard him call them weirdoes. Their adrenaline levels were high and they were ready to fight.

"He called us weirdoes get him," Lori yelled, then the sisters except Leni jumped on Aiden before he could make an escape.

Seconds later, many footsteps came rushing towards the melee. Aidan's grandmother shouted, "STOP!"

Some adults including Lynn Sr. began pulling the Loud sisters off Aidan. The sisters stood there breathing heavily with their clothing disheveled.

Aiden got it worse, he sported a black eye from Luna and there was a bite mark on his right arm courtesy of Lola. Lori and Lynn Jr. had punched him repeatedly in the ribs and Luan had strands of Aiden's hair in her fingernails since she was pulling his hair. Lisa had given him deep scratches on his bare arms. Lola and Lisa had also kicked his shins which were bruised.

Both Rita and Lynn Sr. stood their glowering at their combative daughters.

"Girls," Rita shouted her arms crossed angrily, "Get your butts home NOW!"

"And head straight upstairs, we'll deal with you later," Lynn Sr. said in a less assertive tone.

The fuming girls shuffled off towards home. The Loud parents could feel intense glares from their angry neighbors. Mrs. Hart stood there with her arms folded while shaking her head.

"I'm sorry about what happened," Rita told Aidan's grandmother, who was tending to him. She gave the Loud parents a stony glare.

"Why can't you control those girls? Look at what they did to Aidan." she declared angrily. Rita and Lynn Sr. became self-conscious.

"Don't worry they will be punished," Rita declared.

"We're so embarrassed, we won't let this happen again," Lynn Sr. told her.

Mr. Winters then said solemnly, "And it won't. Mr. and Mrs. Loud. Your family is thereby uninvited to all future events put on by the Association."

"We understand," Mr. Loud said.

"How dare he call us weirdos," Lori thought while the sisters walked towards home.

At the moment Lincoln and Clyde were in the Loud's living room watching reruns of "ARGGH". They had left the party after eating so they could watch TV before the sisters returned. Lucy was in her bedroom. They heard the front door opening and watched the six sisters with their clothes in disarray and Leni walking in behind them.

Clyde gasped," What happened to you?" Lincoln didn't gasp because he immediately figured out they had beaten up someone or attacked each other over something trivial.

"They either beat somebody up or each other," Lincoln explained. The girls ignored Lincoln and Clyde and headed upstairs. Then Lana walked in, her clothes covered in mud.

"Well I think I should leave." Clyde said, "Are you coming to the fireworks tonight?"

"Don't worry, Clyde, I think I'm going to see a lot of fireworks in this house tonight," Lincoln told his friend.


	6. Law and Order

Chapter 6

 **In the last chapter, Lincoln purposely distanced himself from his family to avoid being asked to help his younger sisters with anything and the conversation between Susanna and Mrs. Hart while waiting in line was to make a contrast between the parenting styles of the Loud parents and Mrs. Hart.**

The Loud parents headed home, totally embarrassed at their daughter's savage beat down of Aidan. While walking away from their angry neighbors, they heard Mrs. Winters say, "Let's start cleaning up this mess."

When the sisters pounced on Aidan, he fell backwards and knocked over the table with the cake and the few cookies that weren't consumed.

"Well there goes looking at the fireworks tonight," Rita thought, "We have to do something else besides just grounding them," she then muttered.

"What's the matter Rita?" her husband asked.

"We need to take drastic measures to punish the girls. Did you see how everyone gave us those death glares?" she asked her husband.

"But what drastic measures?" he asked, knitting his brow.

Just then the parents saw a teenage girl with dark brown hair hurrying towards them carrying her smart phone.

"Mr. and Mrs. Loud, wait up!" the girl exclaimed, then stopped before them to catch her breath.

"I saw the whole incident, I saw your daughter in the pink gown shove Aidan when he was about to pick up the last slice of cake," she finally said.

"WHAT!" Lynn Sr. in total disbelief.

"I have it on camera," she replied, then turned on a video clip on her phone.

The parents were stunned to watch their little pageant queen shoving Aiden then snatching the cake from the table and shouting, "Princesses first!" When the video reached the spot when the sisters jumped on Aidan, Rita couldn't bear to see anymore after five seconds.

"We've seen enough," the mother declared in embarrassment. The girl quickly turned off the video.

"Thank you so much for showing us the video, what's your name?" Lynn Sr. asked.

"My name is Kelly," the girl responded.

"Perfect, if the girls lie to us, we can say someone told us what happened," Rita said.

"Mr. and Mrs. Loud I swear I won't put this on the internet," Kelly explained.

"Thanks again Kelly," Rita said.

Kelly said, "Bye Mr. and Mrs. Loud," before leaving. The parents continued home.

Once they reached the front door, Rita said, "Let's work on how we're going to punish the girls before calling them."

Meanwhile, the peeved sisters were laying on their beds. Luna had changed her shirt because the cake landed on her when the table overturned. The twins were playing a game on their phones.

"I should have given that boy an atomic wedgie," Lori thought.

Children didn't call her the "Wedgie Queen" for nothing back in middle school during her "Awkward Phase," when boys called her "brace face" or "metal mouth" because of her braces. When she began giving them wedgies for calling her those names, they soon learned fast enough not to do it anymore.

Meanwhile, Lucy asked Lynn Jr, "What happened to you?" when the athlete entered their bedroom after using the bathroom.

"This lame-o shoved Lola when she wanted the last piece of cake and grabbed it from her," Lynn Jr. lied, "Lori, Leni, Luna, Luan, Lisa and I got in his face about it. He had the nerve to say she pushed him, so we gave him a beat down when he called us a bunch of weirdoes when we asked him to apologize to Lola."

Lucy was surprised at the idea of Lola needing her other sisters to help her attack someone else. "You should have seen how he looked afterward," Lynn Jr. gloated, showing no remorse whatsoever. She picked up her basketball and began throwing it into the net hanging on the door.

Lincoln heard the front door opening and looked up from the TV and saw his parents. He asked them, "Hey mom and dad, what were my sisters fighting over this time?"

"Well son, this boy wanted the last piece of cake but Lola shoved him aside then snatched it from him then your sisters started arguing with him. He called them weirdoes and they ambushed the kid," Lynn Sr. explained.

Lincoln flinched a tiny bit.

"Anyway your father and I will be working on a suitable punishment before we call your sisters," Rita told him.

Lynn Sr. closed the door of the master bedroom after he and Rita entered.

They sat down on their queen sized bed and started brainstorming.

"We're taking away their phones, toys, laptops and hobbies including Lucy's coffin, no dates, socializing with their friends and they won't be allowed to watch TV or have dessert," Rita stated.

"Sounds perfect," Lynn Sr. added.

"It's also time for some tough love. We're stripping their bedrooms of everything except their furniture and their clothes," Lynn Sr. added.

"But I'm thinking something special for Miss Lola, she has been snatching things away from others lately. We'll remove her mattress and she can bunk with Lana," Rita said.

"Mrs. Hart said her son has three more weeks of summer school. We're sending the girls except Lori and Leni. When summer school ends, they'll go to the community center day camp," she continued.

"Wait a second, they can't come home to an empty house after school, mmmmm, they could stay with Mr. Grouse until we leave work," Lynn Sr. suggested.

Mr. Grouse had changed his work hours to part time from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

"What if he says no?" Rita asked

"I'll offer him money," he replied.

"Perfect, I'll stay home tomorrow to supervise the girls," Rita said.

"And we'll give them plenty of chores on the weekend," Lynn Sr. added.

"Are we ready then?" Lynn Sr. asked. They walked out of their bedroom. Once Rita saw Lincoln she immediately thought of something.

"Mom do you want me to go upstairs," he asked.

"No I need you to stay," she replied.

##################################################################

"What's taking them so long to call us?" Luna asked her roommate Luan.

"Hopefully they've fallen asleep and forget all about punishing us," Luan replied. She was wrong, Rita was at the bottom of the stairs.

"Girls, could you get downstairs, Lana and Lucy you too," she shouted. A few seconds passed and the girls didn't budge.

"NOW!" Rita yelled, and within seconds they were rushing downstairs.

The girls were sullen faced as they entered the living room. Lori became puzzled at Lincoln sitting in the small armchair and thought, 'Why is he here?"

As they settled on the couch, Lori crossed her arms defiantly. Their parents stood before the siblings in stony silence with serious expressions on their faces.

Their father finally spoke. "I hope you're all proud of yourselves, attacking a poor boy like a pack of wild animals over a piece of cake," he declared angrily.

"Lori you're the oldest, you should be showing a better example for your sisters," Rita told her.

"Just ground us already," the eighteen year old snarled impatiently.

Her father shook his head. "Oh no, grounding you is too easy, your mother and I have decided to take some extreme measures," he declared.

"Consider the most of your summer over. This means no TV, no dessert, no dates, no hanging out with your friends, no family trips to the movies, Lola no tea parties, we're taking away your smart phones, toys, laptops and all your hobbies including your coffin Lucy. Luan there will be no pranks, Luna and LJ your musical instruments and sports equipment will be stored in the garage until further notice," Rita stated.

Lynn Jr. decided to act out of character by being melodramatic in order to change her parent's minds.

"No mom you can't. My life is meaningless without sports, it will be like cutting off my oxygen supply," Lynn Jr. pleaded.

"Spare us the drama Lynn Leslie Junior, you aren't making us change our minds," Rita replied sternly.

Lucy raised her hand. "Mom, I wasn't involved in the fight," Lucy said.

"Me neither," Lana added.

"Lana you disobeyed me by taking Hops to the party when I specifically told you not to," Rita reminded her, "And look what happened."

"And Lucy not everyone especially senior citizens will take kindly to someone asking them to play a corpse at a pretend funeral," Lynn Sr. explained.

"We're taking away everything from your rooms except your furniture and your clothes to teach you a lesson, but Lola…" then paused nervously, "We're taking your mattress," their father continued.

Lola's jaw nearly reached the floor, then she released an ear shattering, "NOOOOOO," causing everyone else to cover their ears.

Unlike Lynn Jr. this was no act. Lola was genuinely upset at hearing she wouldn't be able to have the comfort of the beautiful bed she won at the Little Miss Royal Woods pageant when she was almost five years old.

"You can't take away my beautiful bed," she uttered squeakily.

"Please I swear I won't lose my temper anymore," she pleaded frantically.

"Too late," Rita answered.

What Lola didn't know was that Rita had more surprises for her she never revealed to Lynn Sr.


	7. Laying down the law

Rita continued, "I'm not finished Lola, starting tomorrow you'll begin dressing like a normal girl. You have cute outfits just hanging in your closet that you haven't worn in almost two years. When your punishments over, you're only allowed to wear your gowns, gloves and tiaras for pageants and can only wear them in the house when you have tea parties."

"You mean I can't wear them to school or in public anymore?" Lola squealed.

"That's right," Rita replied.

"Well I won't go to school, you can homeschool me," Lola declared then crossed her arms defiantly.

"Not an option, your mom and I have to earn a living," her father responded firmly.

"You can keep your pets Lana," he added. Lana breathed a sigh of relief.

"Speaking of school, Luna, Luan, Lynn Jr. Lola, Lana, Lucy and Lisa we're sending you to summer school," Lynn Sr. declared.

Upon hearing the dreaded words 'summer school', the girls and Lincoln released out a collective gasp.

"Noo, you can't do that to us," Luan cried in despair.

"If I go to summer school I'll literally die," Lucy wailed. Luna released a groan.

"It's just three more weeks after this one," Rita told her daughters

"How do you know the schedule, you've never sent us?" Luna asked

"Mrs. Hart told me her son Jeffrey attends summer school," Rita replied

Luna knew Jeffrey since he was in her History and English classes. At the block party she saw him sneaking some soda when his mother left to assist Mrs. Stewart with something.

"There's only one problem mother, there's no summer school for children my age," Lisa said.

"No problem Lisa, you'll go with Lana and Lola to their classes," Rita told her.

"What, that's totally ludicrous, it's bad enough I have to attend a low-level educational institution with below average children, I have to go in the summer?" Lisa declared arrogantly.

"All right then, we'll drop you at Aunt Ruth in the mornings then take your sisters to school," Rita replied

Lisa looked a little disgusted at the idea of going to Ruthie.

"Oh summer school's fine," she said hastily.

"We'll go into work a little later to drive you to school, but after school you're taking the school bus and head straight to Mr. Grouse where you'll stay until we get home," Lynn Sr. said.

"You expect us to take the school bus?" Luan complained.

"Why do we have to stay with grumpy old Mr. Grouse?' Lola whined.

"Because you need adult supervision when we're working. You can do your homework to keep you occupied," Rita responded to Lola's question.

"When summer school ends you'll attend the day camp at the community center," Rita added.

"Lori and Leni both of you will come straight home after work and start dinner," Lynn Sr. added, "On the weekends, you be kept occupied doing lots of chores we will assign to each of you."

The girls looked horror-struck upon hearing about the chores.

"When you're not busy with chores you can relax and read books," he told them.

"And every night you'll go to bed at eight thirty, tomorrow I'm staying home to supervise you girls and your father is leaving work early to help."

Lynn Sr. had thought of something else while his wife talked about the girls attending the day camp at the community center.

"Girls, if you have any sibling meetings planned for the next two months please cancel them, we don't want you plotting against us," he told them.

"Luan I know you are booked to perform at birthday parties so you'll keep only the things you need to rehearse and carry with you," Mr. Loud said.

A few seconds passed then Rita spoke again. This is the reason why she asked Lincoln to stay.

"Here's a warning, you better not threaten Lincoln physically, blackmail or guilt trip him into convincing us to change our minds about your punishment because if you do we'll send you to stay with Aunt Ruth until Christmas, do I make myself clear," Rita said firmly.

"Yes mother," they all uttered dejectedly.

"Give us your phones after calling your friends to cancel your plans with them and your laptops. Lori and Luna that means you have to cancel all your dates with Bobby and Sam. We're coming upstairs to see if you're hiding any extra phones," Lynn Sr. said firmly.

"You're excused," Rita finally said.

The girls gratefully scrambled upstairs as quickly as possible.

Lori picked up her phone to call Bobby. They had a dinner date this Saturday evening at Jean Juan's restaurant in Royal Woods. He would sleep at a friend's house then drive back into the city the next morning. Lori decided to not mention the physical attack on Aidan.

"Hi Lori, what's happening, how was the Block Party?" he answered.

"Oh we had a great time, Mr. Winter's burgers were delicious," she replied.

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself my family just finished eating two hours ago. I was just watching TV with Carlito," he replied.

"Er, Bobby,"…she hesitated, "I have to cancel our date for Saturday and any future dates for the summer."

"Why?" her boyfriend inquired in surprise.

"Well Leni, Luna, Luan, Lynn and I were involved in a heated argument with this boy at the party. Mom and dad got furious and are punishing us until for a long time. They're taking away all our phones and laptops so I cannot talk to you until then," Lori explained with regret in her voice.

"Oh no," Bobby declared, then pondered for a moment. "Well we can reschedule another date when you get back your phone."

"Okay speak to you after I'm released from prison, boo boo bear," she said.

"Bye Lori," he replied.

Meanwhile Lynn Jr. had to leave text messages for Polly and Margo since they didn't answer their phones directly. The parents came into their rooms shortly and asked for their daughter's cell phones which the girls handed over dejectedly.

Later

Most of the residents of Franklin Avenue were watching the fireworks display at Ketcham Park. Meanwhile Rita, Lynn Sr. and Lincoln were watching the Macy's annual Fourth of July fireworks display on TV. The girls meanwhile were in bed struggling to fall asleep except Lola, Leni and Lynn Jr. who fell asleep quickly.

Meanwhile Aidan Presley was recovering in bed reading a book while his grandparents watched the Macy special on TV. He still felt bruised from the injuries that he received from the six Loud sisters. Earlier, his grandmother, who was a nurse had taken him home to treat his injuries while the others who stopped the brawl were cleaning up the mess left behind.

"It was so humiliating getting beat up by a bunch of girls," Aidan admitted during the walk home, then added, "I had no idea the little ones would be so vicious."

"It's because they learned it from their older sisters," his grandmother had remarked.

"Thank goodness I'm going home on Friday," he muttered. Aidan lived in Hazeltucky with his parents and was spending the week with his grandparents while his parents were away on a business trip.

"I hope I don't see those six savage girls again," he thought as he placed the book on the bed stand.

Suddenly, he exclaimed, "That's it, I'll call them the "Savage Six." His grandmother entered a few minutes later with some hot chocolate.

Back at the Louds after the Macy's fireworks display ended, the parents were getting into bed. They were satisfied at the punishment they meted out to their daughters.

"Do you think the girl's behavior will improve after all this is over?" Lynn Sr. said to his wife.

"We can only hope," Rita responded, "Good night honey," then kissed him on his left cheek before they turned off their lamps.

"I really hope it does," Rita thought tiredly before yawning.

Meanwhile Lincoln was lying in bed thinking about all the punitive measures his parents were imposing on his sisters.

"It's going to be really quiet around here with no fights over the TV, no pranks and no loud rock music," he thought before dozing off into sleep.


	8. Packing things up

July 5th

The next morning Lori was awakened by her alarm at 6:50. She yawned then pressed the off button. She hurried to the bathroom and took only four minutes to shower, then spent quite a while putting on makeup. Lynn Sr. would wake up at 7:10 am while Lincoln at 7:15 am.

Lori wasn't very hungry so she fixed a bowl of Rice Krispies cereal for breakfast. Sometime later her father and brother were awake and by 7:40 a.m. the trio were leaving for work. Leni was leaving at 9: 30 am.

"It's really late," Rita mused when she noticed it was ten a.m. on her alarm clock. The other girls were still asleep. Rita showered and got dressed then brewed some coffee and toasted two waffles for breakfast. After breakfast she entered Lisa and Lily's room because she heard Lily fussing. Rita picked up Lily and carried her downstairs to fix her breakfast.

Minutes into the morning talk show she was watching, the front door unlocked and Lynn Sr. entered. Last night, he told Rita he changed his mind about going to work. After dropping Lincoln off at the restaurant, Lynn Sr. told Kentauro, Grant and Rudy he had urgent business at home and was taking the day off. He headed to Target to buy some items needed to store the girl's belongings. Lincoln would take the bus back home.

"You're back," Rita asked. She followed him outside to assist in unloading Vanzilla.

Luna, Luan, Lynn Jr., and Lana awoke at eleven a.m. The foursome went downstairs for breakfast after using the bathroom. Gradually the other girls woke up.

While they ate breakfast the parents entered the dining room. Everyone of Lola's pageant gowns were already placed into costume bags the evening before by Rita and stored in the attic.

"When you're finished get dressed and we'll start," Rita told them.

Lola's mattress would be stored in the attic wrapped in plastic left over from the repairs to the home when it was infested with termites. The pageant princess had grumbled that Lana was too gross to share a bed with.

"Lana you will take a bath every night," Rita had informed the tomboy.

Very soon Rita and Luna stood beside Lola's bed. The child attempted a last ditch effort to make Rita change her mind. She was wearing a light pink blouse with little stars and pink shorts.

"Mom please don't take my bed, I'll be a good girl from now on," she wailed.

"Please go and help Lana pack your toys in the plastic bins," Rita responded coolly.

The little girl walked gloomily over to Lana and began helping her sister.

Lola's treasured pageant portraits that hung on the wall next to her bed would go into another plastic container. Lynn Jr. frowned while placing her sports equipment into one of the large storage containers

"Could I at least keep the basketball?" Lynn Sr. asked her father.

"Sorry Junior if we allow you to keep one thing, your sisters will think that's unfair," was his response.

When Rita finished removing Lola's mattress with Luna's assistance, she went into Lisa's room. The girls then helped their parents put the containers holding their belongings in the attic. Somebody from the Institute that donated Lisa's science equipment and machines would arrive that afternoon to pick them up. Finally Luna's musical instruments and speakers were stored in the garage then the girls had to sweep their bedroom floors then dust the furniture.

Meeting

It was six p.m. and members of the Franklin Avenue Neighborhood Association were gathered on the Stewart's back porch. They talked amongst each other as they settled down in chairs provided.

"How is Aidan doing, Joanne?" Mrs. Hart asked Mrs. Douglas.

"Well he's still a little sore, but mentally," Joanne replied, "When I called his parents today and told them what happened they were furious."

Mr. Gary Winters, the President, stood before the medium sized gathering of disgruntled neighbors. He called the meeting on Wednesday while the neighbors were cleaning up the mess caused by the fight.

"Okay everyone, let's begin this meeting," Mr. Winters said calmly once everyone settled down.

"We have to do something about those hooligan sisters," Mrs. Hart stated with venom in her tone.

"This is such a lovely neighborhood, we shouldn't have to endure those out of control brats any longer, we have stayed silent about the matter for too long," Barbara Kramer stated.

"I agree with Barbara," Mrs. Hart concurred, "At least once a week, there's an explosion coming from over there."

"It's that genius kid of theirs that's to blame," Simon stated, referring to Lisa Loud.

"How can parents allow a child her age to handle dangerous chemicals?" he added with concern.

"My kids cannot concentrate on their homework some nights because of the screaming and fighting over there," Mrs. Hart proclaimed.

"Don't forget the commotion they make some Saturday mornings," Simon added, Some Saturdays I see the parents sitting on the porch with headphones on while the ruckus goes on inside."

Barbara added, "The girl who carries the purple guitar plays her music so loud I cannot hear the television."

"One time, I was at the supermarket and Rita was there with the two younger girls. Did you know the little genius was carrying around a plastic cup with some Q-tips and asking people to open their mouths so she could get samples of their DNA," Mrs. Stewart remarked.

Mrs. Hart gasped, "You're not serious, are you?"

"I'm serious, also Rita left the baby in the cart to get something in the same aisle and the baby began throwing tins of baked beans on the floor. Rita didn't even scold the infant she just picked up the cans and placed them back on the shelf,"

Mrs. Stewart continued

Barbara shook her head, then added her piece. "Remember when the twins were selling lemonade. The brat in the pink gown scared two people into buying some by screaming at them through that blasted megaphone."

"We were so glad when the family went on vacation Barbara and I celebrated by drinking champagne that evening," Simon admitted.

"And I could enjoy watching my novellas without being interrupted by loud booming noises," Mrs. Medina stated.

"That's what happens when you have too many children and cannot find the time to show them how to act decently," Mrs. Hart said.

"It can be done Teresa. Both my parents worked to raise seven children and they found the time to teach us to behave properly," Mr. Douglas added.

"And they allow the kids to leave their toys and bikes outside for weeks or months," a Mr. Yoshida complained.

Mr. Winters patiently allowed everyone to vent their frustrations, then began speaking again.

"All right everybody, let's get down to serious business. Any suggestions how to solve this persistent problem of the Loud children?" he asked.

"We should speak to the parents as concerned neighbors," Mrs. Stewart suggested.

"How about tomorrow evening at six-thirty. Lynn Sr. told me they eat dinner at five," Mr. Stewart said.

"All right then is everyone available at that time?" Mr. Winters asked.

Everyone was in agreement.

"We will give them an ultimatum, either discipline those children or the next time they assault someone else, we will ask them to move," Mr. Winters said vehemently.

##################################################################

The sisters were in a sullen mood, having spent quite a while removing all items on their bedroom walls and packing up their hobbies under their parent's supervision. Two large Ziploc bags, one containing the teenage girl's phones and the other with the younger girl's phones were locked in Rita's suitcase in the master bedroom and Lynn Sr. placed all laptops in his suitcase the night before.

The girls attending summer school were told to pack their school bags before going to bed at seven p.m. Luna. Lori and Lynn Jr. had to clean up the kitchen after dinner.

"I can't believe we have to miss Dream Boat," Lori grumbled as they sauntered up the stairs.

"It's just reruns anyway," Luna consoled her.

"I can't believe we have to ugh, read," Lola admitted. The most pissed off sister was Lynn Jr. A soccer match she really wanted to see on TV was showing at the moment.

After changing into her night clothing, the teenager released a ferocious growl then laid on her mattress. Meanwhile Lincoln was heading downstairs to watch TV before going to bed at nine p.m.

Later…

"Stop kicking me," Lola snapped angrily at Lana. The tomboy was kick fighting in her sleep and this was the third time she kicked Lola.

"I'm going to sleep with Lisa," Lola thought angrily. She shoved the little genius aside and laid beside her, but Lisa began rattling off scientific facts in her sleep.

"Ugh this is getting ridiculous," Lola thought then decided to sleep beside Leni.


	9. Confronting the Louds

Friday morning

"Rise and shine girls," Rita shouted from downstairs. Luna groaned irritably when she heard Rita's voice. Only Leni remained in bed.

"Why do we have to go to summer school?" Lana grumbled while standing behind Lynn Jr. in the line to the bathroom.

After everyone showered and ate breakfast, the girls dressed quickly then grabbed their backpacks. After school, Lynn Sr. would pick them up and take the younger girls back home where their grandpa Albert would be waiting to baby sit them. Albert owned a key to the house so he would let himself in before the girls arrived. The older girls would go back with their father to help out in the restaurant until work ended.

At Royal Woods High, Teresa Hart was surprised to see Vanzilla enter the school grounds as she was about to leave after dropping off Jeffrey. Susanna was sitting in the back seat.

"So they decided to send the hooligans to summer school," she muttered wryly before driving away.

"Have a nice day girls," Rita chirped as Luna and Luan exited Vanzilla with scowls on their faces. In the hallway, other students began whispering among themselves as Luna and Luan walked to their lockers.

"If looks could kill," one girl named Emma whispered.

"Looks like their parents are forcing them to come here," her friend whispered back.

The news about Aidan's attack spread like wildfire yesterday when Jeffrey told his friends about it. Jeffrey was home when the fight happened so his mother informed him about it.

Lincoln enjoyed a late breakfast at 9: 30 a.m then watched cartoons for two hours and fifteen minutes before heading over to Gus' to meet Clyde, Rusty and Liam. Lincoln couldn't speak with Clyde yesterday about the brawl and his parent's punishment since Clyde was in Hazeltucky visiting a cousin.

"So what happened on Wednesday," Clyde asked as Lincoln sat beside Rusty.

"Dad said Lola shoved this boy and grabbed a piece of cake he wanted, then my sisters except Lana and Lucy started arguing with him. He called them weirdoes and they gave him a beat down," Lincoln explained.

"Wow," the friends exclaimed in astonishment.

"Did your parents punish your sisters?" Clyde asked.

"Yes for most of the summer, they cannot watch TV or see their friends, Lynn is banned from playing sports, Luan cannot do any pranks and you won't believe this, all of them except Lori and Leni have to attend summer school," Lincoln explained.

"Ouch!" Rusty replied.

"And my parents took away their toys, hobbies, phones, laptops and everything was taken out their rooms except their furniture and their clothes," Lincoln continued.

"Wow, your parents mean business," Liam replied.

"Anyway let order pizza," Lincoln declared

Later…

The family just finished dinner an hour ago. The table was cleared as usual by the younger sisters and the kitchen was cleaned up by the teenage ones. At the moment Rita was sitting in the armchair reading. While the sisters read on the couch Lincoln was sitting on the carpet reading a comic book. Suddenly everyone was interrupted by the doorbell ringing by Mr. Winters the President of the Association.

"Now who could that be?" Rita asked with a slightly irritated tone.

Luan automatically leapt forward and peered through the window then gasped.

"There goes the neighborhood and they're all on our lawn protesting," she reported.

"My God," Rita uttered in alarm.

"They're probably still mad, should we pretend we're not here?" Leni whispered.

"No, your mom and I should talk to them," Lynn Sr. spoke resolutely.

They walked towards the front door and Rita opened the door. The neighbors who attended the emergency meeting were there including others who were informed by Mr. Winters.

The children crowded around the living room window and gasped upon seeing Barbara and Simon holding a huge sign with the words, "This is a nice neighborhood, not a jungle" written in big red letters.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Winters," Rita spoke cheerily, then her tone became serious,

"If this is about what happened to Aidan, the girls have been punished for most of the summer."

"Well at least you're punishing them, but we'd like to discuss some issues with you concerning your children's disorderly behavior," Mr. Winters said solemnly.

"The first issue is regarding the attack on our grandson. Yesterday we called his parents and told them what happened. You should be lucky they're not pressing charges against them or you their parents," Mr. Douglas stated.

"In my day if girls behaved like that, they were sent to reform school," Mr. Miller's mom snapped. The Loud parents exchanged confused glances.

"She means juvenile hall," Mr. Miller explained.

Barbara walked up to their front door. "Mark my words if your daughters don't learn to control their anger, they could wind up in prison, especially your daughter in the pink dress," she warned.

"Do you know when the twins were selling lemonade, she scared two people into buying when they refused," Barbara added.

"Rita gasped, "No I had no idea, I was working overtime making extra money for our vacation."

Mrs. Winters then remarked, "The next matter involves the incessant noise your children constantly make."

"Why can't you both silence your kids? I bet your baby has trouble sleeping at night!" Mrs. Yoshida exclaimed.

"We're tired of being interrupted by the explosions and loud music," Barbara added.

"Well Lisa does research for the college and sometimes an experiment goes wrong," Rita defended.

"And sometimes Luna has to practice for local events," Lynn Sr. added.

Mrs. Hart spoke, "Sometimes my children cannot concentrate on their homework because of the loud music or the screaming."

"Almost every Saturday morning they're running around screaming their lungs out," Simon said.

"One time the athletic one almost broke my front window when her soccer ball bounced on a shutter. She didn't even say 'sorry' when she retrieved it," Mr. Winters said annoyed.

"And why can't they take their toys and bikes inside more often instead of leaving them on the lawn for weeks or months," Mr. Yoshida said angrily.

"But they took everything inside before we went on vacation," Lynn Sr. replied.

"Hello there's a toy plane stuck in that tree for almost two years," Simon declared then pointed to a tree.

"I was the one who called the police when they invited their friends over and almost caused a riot," Simon admitted. (From the episode "Friendzy")

"There was the night the music became unbearable and we saw fireworks flying out of the windows and surprise, you weren't home," Mrs. Stewart added.

"Your children are old enough to learn how to be considerate of their neighbors," Mrs. Hart declared.

"We're giving you an ultimatum, start disciplining your children because if we have to call the police on them again, we'll ask them to arrest you both for contributing to their delinquent behavior," Mr. Winters said sternly.

"Good night Mr. and Mrs. Loud," his wife said solemnly. Everyone began walking back to their houses.

The parents felt defeated as they turned and walked back inside. They looked at their girls who were sitting on the couch with Lynn Jr. and Lola looking smug.

"That was so humiliating, I'm surprised they didn't call the local news station here," their father said crossly.

"Will they really call the police if we attack another person?" Leni asked worried.

Lynn Jr. scoffed, "Please they're just scaring us."

"Well they sounded pretty serious to me," Lincoln admitted.

"You can talk Mr. Goody Two Shoes, they didn't single you out," Lynn Jr. replied with sarcasm.

"It's because I'm the only one besides Lucy who makes the least noise," he retorted.

Rita was strangely quiet all this time then finally spoke.

"Girls I hope you listened to every word they said, because more changes are coming once your punishments over. Lola and Junior you won't be allowed to drive your toy car or play sports in the house anymore. Luna you won't play your musical instruments with the speakers on full blast and Lisa no more experiments at night. Lori and Leni, you'll learn to share and stop the ridiculous squabbles over clothes and makeup," Rita spoke.

"And you girls are going to stop this aggressive behavior. You won't be pushing around each other or Lincoln anymore. If there's another fight over the TV it's going in my room and you can buy your own from your allowances. You're all going to learn some manners, which means Lynn Junior, you'll apologize whenever you pass gas or belch. You'll say please and thank you," Rita said then gave Lola a stern look.

"And no one gets dessert if they misbehave. If you're aggressive, don't do your homework or your chores or play your music loud, no dessert," Lynn Sr. added.

"And Lana, Lola and Junior I'm cancelling your birthday breakfasts, but you'll be allowed to eat dessert and watch TV for an hour on your birthdays," he added.

The twin's birthday was later that month and Lynn Jrs. in early August.

"Now your father and I have another matter to take care of," Rita concluded before they headed towards their bedroom to plan a chore schedule for the girls.

The Loud sisters remained silent while their parents headed to the master bedroom. Once Lynn Sr. closed the door, Lynn Jr. was the one to break the silence.

"He can't be serious, taking away our birthday breakfasts," she uttered.

"It's so unfair," Lola whined.

"I don't really mind not getting a birthday breakfast," Lana remarked.

A few more seconds of silence passed then Lori remarked, "I agree with that lady, we are old enough to be considerate of our neighbors."

The other girls glanced at Lori in disbelief.

"But we're kids they can't expect us to be quiet all the time," Lana said.

"I agree with Lana," Luan replied.

"Really Lori you shouldn't talk about showing consideration for anyone when you hog the bathroom just because you're the oldest," Lynn replied sarcastically.

Instead of getting annoyed with the athlete's remark, Lori said calmly, "Don't you get it, she said sometimes her kids cannot concentrate on their homework because of us."

"But conducting experiments are an important part of my research, it's not my fault when explosions happen," Lisa responded.

"Lisa sometimes you're doing them in the mornings before school," Lori retorted.

Lucy sighed. "I'm going to lie down," she droned.

"I think I'll watch TV on my laptop, Lincoln thought, then followed Lucy upstairs.

"Well back to the boring reading," Luna remarked.


	10. Saturday morning

Meanwhile Aidan was sitting on the couch in his grandparent's living room with a brown suitcase beside him. The injuries he received from the six Loud sisters during the brawl were healed. He was waiting for his grandfather to drive him home.

"Hi how'd the intervention go?" he asked his grandparents as they entered the house.

"Well those girls were punished," Mrs. Douglas told him.

"Good, I hope they're punished until Christmas," Aidan snapped.

"Then we told the parents we're calling the police if they cause another disturbance and have them arrested for their children's behavior," Mrs. Douglas remarked.

"Let's take you home Aidan," Mr. Douglas asked.

"Clark, I hope that Rita and Lynn Sr. take Gary's warning seriously," Mrs. Stewart told her husband as she locked the front door behind her.

"I hope they do Robyn for their children's sake," he remarked, "Their kids are insufferable but I don't want them taken away if Rita and Lynn are called unfit parents if another incident occurs and Gary contacts the police."

"Those kids need discipline especially those girls," Robyn declared.

"You can say that again, anyway let's make some coffee," her husband said.

Later….

" _Mark my words if your daughters don't learn to control their anger, they could wind up in prison, especially your daughter in the pink dress,"_ Rita thought of Barbara's remark while getting into bed, then recalled the statement about Lola scaring people who refused to buy lemonade.

"Lola's bad attitude is getting worse, we have address the problem," she opined to Lynn Sr.

"I'm going to have a serious chat with her," she thought.

Saturday morning…

The Loud children except Leni were in the dining room finishing a late breakfast. Leni already had breakfast and was getting dressed for work.

"Morning girls, you have a busy day of chores," Lynn Sr. announced. The sisters groaned irritably.

"Everyone place your sheets and pillowcases in the laundry chute after breakfast," Rita said. Lincoln already did that before coming down.

"Luna you'll help Lori with the laundry, Luan, you're going to vacuum every room after Lincoln takes out the garbage," Lynn Sr. said.

"Lana, after feeding your pets, help Lola and Lisa with cleaning Vanzilla and Junior you're cleaning the bathroom. Lucy you're dusting the furniture," Rita said.

"Mom afterwards I have this birthday party for Saturday for a kid named Zach that I have to practice for," Luan said.

Lincoln became astonished. "Luan, are you talking about Zach Harper?" he asked.

"Yes," Luan replied

"That's the red haired one with the glasses you saw at my birthday. That's the party I'm going to," he said excitedly.

"Really we can go together," Luan replied.

Lincoln finished his remaining bacon and eggs then helped clear the table, afterwards he found sheets in the linen closet in the basement then made his bed.

While Lincoln collected the garbage Luna and Lori were in the basement.

"What should we wash first?" Luna asked Lori.

"We do the sheets first," Lori instructed. Luna picked up Lincoln's sheets and placed them in the washing machine then Lisa's.

"Now pour some of the detergent in the cap twice and pour it around in a circle," Lori instructed next.

When Luna was finished, Lori said, "Then we turn the machine to the heavy cycle."

After Lori did that she said, "Now we just wait for the cycle to finish, I usually text my friends or talk to Bobby. They sat on the basement steps.

"You know this is all Lola's fault, if she hadn't wanted that dang piece of cake we would be enjoying the rest of our summer," Luna complained.

"That's so true," Lori replied, "I could be talking to Whitney now."

"Next time we let the little princess fight her own battles," Luna remarked bitterly.

"I wonder how many places have we been kicked out or banned now?" Luna mused.

"Remember when dad went in for colonoscopy surgery? We begged him to take us. Lisa wouldn't stop asking his doctor medical questions. A few minutes after he went into surgery Lynn started doing parkour over some chairs, Luan was annoying people with her corny puns then Lana and Lola started fighting in the play area over a crayon Lana took from Lola," Lori recalled.

"Then the receptionist came over and told us to leave because people were complaining about us. You drove us home then came back. Mom was so mad when you told her what happened she grounded them for a week," Luna said.

"We sure have a bad track record, anyway I'm going for a book," Lori remarked.

Finally all the garbage was taken out. Lincoln washed his hands afterwards in the bathroom then tidied his room.

"I'll take Charles for a walk," he thought. Lincoln passed the Hart's residence on his way to Ketcham Park. After walking Charles around for ten minutes he rested on a bench with Charles laying on the ground. He left after fifteen minutes passed and headed home.

Lincoln saw Lana, Lola and Lisa resting on the couch drinking water. He returned Charles leash to its place on the kitchen wall then took a cold bottle of water from the fridge. Upstairs Lincoln drank some water then started packing his pajamas, some underwear, his toothbrush and two DVD's into a green tote. Yesterday at Gus' Clyde told his friends Harold asked him to invite them to a sleepover and Rita agreed to let Lincoln go. He read comics until three pm, then assisted Lori and Luna with folding clothes before leaving for Clyde's at four pm.

Clyde opened the door when Lincoln rang the doorbell.

"Hello Lincoln, my dads are serving hot dogs and fries for dinner," Clyde said as Lincoln followed him into his bedroom.

"Let's watch TV until the others arrive," Clyde said as Lincoln placed his tote bag on the floor. The other boys arrived exactly at four-thirty.

After dinner they spent hours watching DVD's including the second Ace Savvy DVD Clyde gave Lincoln for his birthday until they retired to Clyde's bedroom at nine o'clock for some much needed sleep.

Sunday morning…

The sisters were having a late breakfast. Mr. Loud was calling Mr. Grouse about watching the summer school girls in the afternoons while the parents were working. He picked up the landline phone in the foyer.

"Hello Bernard, welcome back home," Lynn Sr. said cheerily.

"Hello Lynn," the elderly man replied.

"I hope you enjoyed yourself on your mini vacation," Lynn Sr. asked.

"Yes I enjoyed myself immensely. How was the Block Party?" he inquired.

The father sighed, then admitted, "It went perfectly well, but the girls were involved in some misbehavior."

"It figures," Mr. Grouse thought dryly. He knew the Loud children like his own nieces and nephews.

"I have a favor to ask you, seven of the girls are going to summer school as a part of their punishment, but when they come home they won't have any adult supervision because we won't be home until later so could they stay with you after school?"

"I don't know Lynn," Mr. Grouse replied doubtfully. He was hesitant to agree because of the Loud children's penchant for disorderly conduct.

"Will you do it if I pay you?" Lynn Sr. asked.

"I don't want money, make me some of your delicious lasagna and you have a deal," Bernard replied.

"Agreed," Lynn Sr. replied.

"Tell your girls they have to conduct themselves properly in my home," Mr. Grouse said next.

The man remembered the night a red minivan stopped at the Louds then seeing the ten sisters emerging from the van then watching as the driver hastily drove away as quickly as possible. (from the episode "Attention Deficit")

"Don't worry I'll tell them. Under no circumstance are they allowed to watch TV or have any sweets. The younger girls might convince you into letting them watch TV but stand your ground. They can sit at your table and do their homework. If they say they don't have homework, tell them to do some reading. I'll make sandwiches for them to carry and some juice," Lynn Sr. continued.

"Anything else?" Mr. Grouse inquired

"I'll call you at 1: 30 pm to check if all seven girls are there," Lynn Sr. said.

"All right then Lynn," Mr. Grouse said

"Thanks tremendously Bernard," Lynn Sr. replied, "Goodbye."

When he hung up the telephone, Lynn Sr. went into the dining room.

"Guess what Mr. Grouse has agreed to watch you girls after school," he announced. They all groaned.

"Dang it I was hoping he'd say no," Lola declared.

"School ends at one p.m. so Luna, Luan and LJ go to the elementary school and you all get on the school bus and head straight to Mr. Grouse. I will call him at one thirty every afternoon to see if you're all there and accounted for," Lynn Sr. continued.

"First we're going outside and do some exercises then afterwards you are cleaning the kitchen. Lori, Leni, Luna, Luan and Junior you're going through the cupboards and throw out expired food and twins, Lisa and Lucy you're cleaning out the fridge," Rita announced.


	11. Sunday

As the sisters continued eating their breakfast of oatmeal, buttered toast with grape jelly and hot cocoa, Rita told them, "Girls get dressed after you eat while we clear the table, then meet us outside,"

Meanwhile at the McBride's, Lincoln and his friends had finished eating a delicious breakfast ten minutes ago. The boys enjoyed a hearty breakfast of beef sausages, waffles with maple syrup, strawberries and hot chocolate. While Rusty, Liam and Zach changed into their clothes, Lincoln and Clyde were sitting on the couch watching cartoons in their pajamas.

It was 11: 15 am and the girls were gathered on the front lawn. The younger girls were annoyed and Lola grumbled about getting sweaty. Unlike the other sisters Lynn Jr. was ecstatic about the opportunity to get some exercise.

"All right girls, let's start with a power walk around the house," Lynn Sr. declared. At this moment, Mrs. Hart was returning from church with Jeffrey in the passenger seat and Susanna in the back and noticed the Loud's wearing exercise attire walking briskly towards the back of the house.

"Is that some kind of boot camp for those future felons?" Teresa wondered.

At this moment, Rusty and Zach whose fathers arrived at the same time were saying goodbye to their friends.

"Come on guys pick up the pace," Lynn Jr. shouted enthusiastically as they rounded the house the second time.

"Shut up," Lori whispered irritably under her breath. After walking around the two story house twice, Rita said, "Let's take a breather. Girls, get some water and we'll call you back in fifteen minutes."

The girls ambled back inside and grabbed bottles of cold water from the refrigerator then plopped themselves on the couch. The fifteen minutes ended and Lynn Sr. returned from the master bedroom where he was resting with Rita.

"Girls lets go," he commanded. The sisters followed their parents back outside.

"All right we're going to perform some jumping jacks," Lynn Sr. shouted.

"Girls that's enough for the day," Rita said after the family completed twenty-five jumping jacks.

Everyone wearily trudged inside and the girls picked up the bottles of water they left on the coffee table.

"Girls meet us in the dining room, we'd like to have a talk with you," Rita told them.

The weary sisters sat at the table and drank the remainder of the water.

Rita and Lynn Sr. stood before them and looked at their daughters with serious expressions on their faces.

"Girls you might think our punishments are very harsh but this is what your father and I call tough love. We've been too focused on making you happy so we allowed you to do whatever you please without any consequences. For instance we should have stopped that nonsense about the sister fight protocol when nobody could use the bathroom because someone was cooling off, we didn't even punish you for fighting the next day after the argument about the dresses was settled. We just cleaned up the mess you made instead of making you do it," Rita added.

"You've taken us for granted for too long. You all have cellphones and laptops that my boss at the IT company gave me as gifts," their father raged.

"I haven't bought new shoes or new clothes for a long while because most of my salary goes into helping your father pay the mortgage and buying everything you girls need for your hobbies and extracurricular activities even though you older girls have your babysitting business," Rita added.

"Mom Chunk buys most of my equipment," Luna reminded her. The parents had bought Luna's purple guitar for $120 dollars.

"And I have to pay for the minutes on your phones and pay for internet service we all enjoy. Plus we have to buy food for the pets and take them to the vet," Lynn Sr. told them.

"Now we'd like to address your anger issues. Lola how could you scare people into buying lemonade?" Rita asked her daughter.

"But mom her tactic worked, look how much she and Lana made," Lynn Jr. said in defense of her sister.

"Junior she was extorting money from those people," Rita told her daughter.

"You have to learn how to control your tempers. What if Aidan's parents decided to press charges against us? Lori you're legally an adult and would get charged with assaulting a minor," Lynn Sr. told her.

"Mom I wasn't aware of that," Lori replied.

"Okay you're all excused. We'll call you in an hour," Rita said.

#################################################################

Meanwhile at the McBride's, Clyde, Lincoln and Liam were watching cartoons. Clyde just returned from tidying his bedroom.

"So Lincoln how are your sisters, I hope they're not going to be jealous of you not getting punished?" Liam asked in his Southern drawl.

"Oh I'm not worried about that. My mom warned them if they threaten, blackmail or guilt trip me into getting out of their punishment she's sending them to live with Aunt Ruth until Christmas," Lincoln proclaimed.

Liam's cell phone rang. "Hi dad, you're waiting outside, Okay, be right there."

He picked up his overnight bag lying next to the sofa.

"Bye Lincoln," Liam said while he followed Clyde to the door.

"Bye Liam," Clyde responded once Liam walked outside.

The best friends continued watching cartoons for an hour until Clyde said, "Let's do something else."

"We could go to the park", Lincoln suggested. Clyde turned off the TV then rushed into the study where Howard was reading a novel.

"Hey dad, Lincoln and I are going to the park," Clyde said.

"Have fun," Howard replied.

Luan and Lynn Jr. washed the breakfast dishes while the three older sisters took out all the foodstuff from the kitchen cupboards and laying them on the dining table. The other girls removed all foods and containers from the refrigerator. Lucy was told to wipe the cupboard shelves after the cupboards were emptied.

"Eww, this smells disgusting," Lola declared when she opened a blue Tupperware container and was met with a foul aroma.

"Lola throw it out including the container," Rita instructed.

The three older girls didn't find much expired food among the canned goods. Eventually the job of cleaning the kitchen was finished.

"Good job girls, you deserve a little something for your hard work," their father said and took out a liter bottle of soda from the fridge. While they drank the much desired beverage, Rita said, "You're free to do whatever you want until dinner ready."

"But there's nothing else to do but read," Luna protested.

"I can show you what I have put together for Zach's party," Luan suggested.

The comedian soon returned with various props and began her act in the living room.

Lincoln and Clyde spent a whole two hours in the park reading comics then watching a Sunday concert for thirty minutes before leaving.

"I'm going home Clyde," Lincoln said upon returning to McBride residence then retrieved his packed belongings from Clyde's bedroom.

"Tell your dads bye," Lincoln told Clyde before his departure.

Back home Lincoln was surprised to find Luna and Lucy playing checkers in the living room. He heard the voices of his father and Lori in the kitchen while Lisa was sitting in the armchair reading. Luna looked up and noticed her brother upon hearing the front door opening.

"Hi Lincoln," she said smiling at him.

"Hi Luna where is everybody?" he inquired.

"Lynn, Luan, Leni and the twins are sleeping and mom is working on her novel in her bedroom," Luna answered.

Lincoln went upstairs and napped until his father called everyone down for dinner. Mashed potatoes, roast chicken and carrots were being served. Everyone enjoyed their meal in silence until Lynn Senior spoke.

"Lincoln you'll start working from 9 am to 2 pm," he revealed.

Monday morning

Lincoln woke up at 7: 40 then joined the usual line to the bathroom. He was grateful for the opportunity to begin work at nine am instead of eight thirty. Lori was waiting for Whitney downstairs.

Lincoln noticed a certain pageant princess was missing and asked, "Where's Lola, is she sick?"

"No, she says she's not going to school," Lana admitted.

Luan, Luna and Lynn Jr. decided to check out the other twin's reason. Lola was laying on Lana's mattress covered with the top sheet.

Lola why aren't you getting ready?" Luan asked.

"Because I'm not going without my makeup or a tiara another day," Lola insisted then pouted. The three older girls started frowning.

"You're getting up, Lola, if we have to go to summer school so do you," Luna ranted.

Suddenly Lincoln made an entrance and approached the petulant girl.

"Lola you better get up, or mom might let you spend the day with Aunt Ruth," Lincoln said calmly. Lola pushed aside the sheet and rushed through the door.

Rita was downstairs feeding Lily her breakfast while the children waited in the bathroom line. She smiled at Lily when she swallowed the last spoonful of cereal. Lily was going to the daycare center located in Rita's office building. Eventually all the kids were dressed and sitting at the table eating cheerios. When the morning ritual of teeth brushing was done, the girls grabbed their backpacks and headed downstairs with Lincoln at exactly 8: 35 am.

Lynn Snrs. first stop was Royal Woods High. "Remember girls I'm calling Mr. Grouse at one-forty so make sure you're there," Lynn Sr. reminded them before Luna and Luan stepped out of Vanzilla.

 **To be continued….**


	12. Zach's Party

Still Monday…

Later, while Luna and Luan ate lunch Jeffrey Hart approached their table. The Royal Woods school district offered summer school students free lunches. Jeffrey wanted to ask Luna on Friday about her sisters but was hesitant about it seeing the irritated mood she was in that day.

"Hello Luna and Luan," he greeted. They smiled at the brunette boy.

"How are you, my mother told me when she came home from the intervention that you and your sisters were being punished," Jeffrey asked.

"Well we're hanging in there, my folks took away my musical instruments, we can't watch TV or call our friends and they make us do lots of chores on the weekend," Luna told him.

"Ouch, that's too bad," he uttered. A few seconds of silence passed between them

"Okay see you later," Jeffrey told them and departed.

At the elementary school the kindergarteners gleefully removed their belongings from their assigned shelves in the classroom once the dismissal bell rang. Lisa had placed her belongings with Lana's since she wasn't in that class. The twins and Lisa met Lucy in the hallway then headed outside where the school buses picked up students. Five minutes later the older sisters arrived.

Ten minutes later the school bus arrived a few steps from Mr. Grouse's residence. The sisters departed from the bus then reluctantly strolled towards his house. Luan rang the doorbell and they waited for a few moments before Mr. Grouse answered.

"Hello Louds," the elderly man said gruffly.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Grouse," Luna replied, then forced a little smile. The sisters walked inside and placed their bags beside the couch.

"You can wash your hands in the downstairs bathroom then eat, it's next to the kitchen," he told them.

After the sisters washed their hands in birth order, they retrieved their snacks and sat around the formal dining table to eat.

"I'm going to watch TV, clean up any mess you make and then do your homework," Mr. Grouse instructed before walking upstairs to his bedroom. Lynn Sr. made smoked ham sandwiches which the sisters enjoyed with boxed apple juice. The twins received some math problems and Luna history homework, the others read novels they took from home. Suddenly, the landline phone on his bedside table rang.

"Hi Bernard it's me Lynn Sr. are all the girls there?" Lynn Sr. asked

"Yes Lynn they're all here and accounted for," the elderly male replied.

"That's fine," Lynn Sr. said, "Tell them I'll see them at home."

The next few days went smoothly. Leni got Wednesday off and the parents sent her to summer school that day. On Friday morning, after the other Louds departed, Lincoln fed Lana's pets, then made three pancakes with syrup and hot cocoa for his breakfast after washing his hands. Once his stomach was filled Lincoln rushed into his bedroom to retrieve a second remote control Lynn Sr. told him to keep hidden. Thirty minutes later Lincoln received a call from Clyde while enjoying cartoons on Nickelodeon.

"Hey Lincoln, Rusty called and suggested instead of going to Gus, us and Liam should go to the mall to buy Zach's presents," Clyde asked. Lincoln mulled over the idea for a few seconds.

"That makes sense then afterward we can buy lunch there," Lincoln told his friend.

"Be at my house in an hour, we're taking the bus," Clyde said.

"I'll be there," Lincoln promised then hung up.

That evening, the family ate dinner that Lynn Sr. bought at Aloha Comrade. During the meal Rita asked her son, "Lincoln how long is Zach's party?"

"It starts at 4 pm and ends at six thirty," Lincoln answered.

"And dad I have to leave at 3:15 because I have to set up my act and rehearse," Luan said.

"Wait a minute, that means I'll be waiting a long time before the party starts," Lincoln declared.

"Hmm I'll call Harold and ask him if you can ride with Clyde?" Lynn Sr. suggested.

While Lincoln departed from the room, Lola suddenly became resentful about him

"It's not fair, he gets invited to a party," she thought bitterly.

Upstairs Lincoln chose a light blue shirt and the pants he wore to his party before playing video games.

#####################################################################################

Saturday morning…

Lincoln awoke before everybody else. While sitting comfortably on the couch having a bowl of Cheerios watching TV, the sisters were waking up from their slumber. He groaned irritably when he heard their footsteps because it meant turning off the TV since they weren't allowed to watch. Finally everyone was having breakfast then afterwards the parents assigned chores. Luan was excused from participating since she needed to pack her costumes and props for Zach's party and Leni had to work. Luna was on laundry duty with Lori again. Lucy was given Luan's previous chore of vacuuming while Lisa did the bills and Lola dusted the furniture. Lynn Jr. was on bathroom duty. Lana was busy feeding her pets then would make the beds.

Zach's parents secured a party venue located inside the Royal Woods mall to host his twelfth birthday. Lincoln was still responsible for collecting and taking out the garbage, afterwards he showered then read comics in his bathrobe until he dozed off waking up at three pm. Once Lincoln dressed he began slicking his white hair with a pomade making sure his turkey tail stayed down. At 3:40 pm Harold was blowing his van's horn outside. Lincoln stuffed thirty dollars in his right pants pocket, picked up Zach's present and hurried downstairs.

"Bye Lincoln, enjoy yourself," Rita chanted. Meanwhile Lola watched him through the front window as he rushed down the pathway and growled which Lynn Jr. noticed.

Lincoln and Clyde arrived at the venue at exactly 3:52 p.m. "Have a wonderful time boys," Harold chirped before the boys stepped out the minivan. Inside they noticed a large banner with the words "Welcome to Zach's Bash" hanging over the entrance of the entertainment area.

"Hey Lincoln and Clyde," they heard Rusty say and turned around. Rusty wore a blue suit his father loaned him from the family's clothing store. They walked into the room and greeted Liam, Kat, Hillary, Molly, Penelope, Lance, Darren, Artie, Miguel, boy Jordan and Gabriella (Gabby). The room was nicely decorated with many colored balloons and streamers.

Lincoln noticed someones absence. "Hey is girl Jordan still on vacation?" he inquired.

"Yes and she sent me some pics from her phone," Molly answered. Clyde, Lincoln and Rusty placed their presents on a table stacked with gifts. While Molly showed everyone girl Jordan's vacation photographs, Zach entered the room with his parents. He looked rather sharp wearing a red shirt with black pants.

"Hello everyone ready to get your party on?" he greeted his classmates.

"We sure do," Clyde almost shouted. Five minutes later, a female DJ approached the microphone.

"Everyone please give a warm welcome to Luan," she announced. The children cheered as Luan rushed onstage wearing a red tuxedo. Her act lasted thirty minutes which consisted of juggling tennis balls and doing a ventriquolist act with Mr. Coconuts and cracking puns.

Her performance over, Luan dashed offstage then Mr. Harper took the microphone.

"Hope you're all having a great time kids, now we're going to sing Happy Birthday to Zach," he announced.

Everyone gathered around a rectangular cake with blue and red icing then sang "Happy Birthday."

Zach's cake was served after the children ate hot dogs. After enjoying the vanilla and chocolate cake they danced to the modern pop music for thirty minutes until Mrs. Harper told the DJ to stop the music.

Zach took the microphone, "Hey everyone it's time to open my presents," he announced.

The opening of the presents lasted ten minutes after which Zach thanked his friends. The DJ resumed the music and the children danced until the party ended at six thirty. Everyone received small gift bags containing assortments of candies and chocolates to take home.

"Have a safe journey home kids," Mrs. Harper said as the partygoers were leaving.

"Thank you for the lovely party Mrs. Harper," Clyde told Zach's mother.

"Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Harper bye Zach," Lincoln said. Rita and Harold were waiting in the lobby with other parents.

During the journey home Lincoln asked Rita," Mom, would it be okay if I gave Lisa, the twins and Lucy some candy?"

Rita mulled over his decision. "Okay, but they can have only one piece," she replied.

Whenever Lincoln carried home goodie bags from a party he usually handed out a couple of treats to the younger girls. Leni, Lucy and the twins were hanging out in the living room. Luan and Lynn Jr. were occupied washing the dinner dishes and the pots used for cooking. Lucy was allowed to write her poetry and was sitting in the small armchair with a pencil and her notebook. Leni was relaxed on the couch reading fashion magazines. Lori was at the restaurant.

"Lucy you can have some candy," Lincoln told her then fished out a red sweetie in a silver wrapping and handed it to her.

Thanks Lincoln," Lucy said gratefully in her usual monotone voice before opening her treat.

The twins were sitting crossed-legged around the coffee table with coloring books and coloring pictures. They eagerly awaited while Lincoln approached them.

"Here you can each have one," Lincoln said.

"What do you say?" Rita reminded the girls once their brother handed Lana then Lola one piece of candy.

"Thanks Lincoln," they repeated in unison.

In Lisa's bedroom Lincoln placed a tiny chocolate bar beside the sleeping girl then continued to his room. He placed the red bag on his dresser, kicked off his shoes then called his friend Ronnie Anne and talked about the party. After a while he started yawning, told her goodbye and changed into his pajamas then fell asleep.

Later that evening while the children slept soundly, the parents decided to unwind drinking hot cocoa on the couch watching a 1980's movie. During a commercial break, Rita turned to her husband.

"Honey we should do something different tomorrow instead of giving the girls chores," Rita said.

Her husband sipped some warm cocoa before asking, "What do you have in mind?"

Rita responded, "Let's have another serious discussion with them after our exercises, and later we'll take them for a drive. Lincoln can take Charles for a walk after breakfast, then he can spend the day with Clyde."


	13. Luna's rebellion

Sunday

This morning Lori assisted her father to prepare scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast while Rita sat with Lily at the kitchen table feeding the two year old cereal. At present Luna and Luan were waking up. Luna released a huge yawn then roused herself to a sitting position.

"I hope we get a break from chores today?" Luna said while idly slipping her feet into her purple slippers.

Luan stretched her arms above her head before replying, "Probably not."

The unmistakable aroma of bacon greeted them in the upstairs hallway.

"Hooray I smell bacon," declared Lana with a smile as she walked out her room. Lincoln was watching videos on his laptop having been awake since nine am and showered earlier. The others were gradually stirring awake.

A minute later Lynn Sr. called, "Kids breakfast's ready."

The whole family sat together for breakfast which was rare on Sunday mornings. After a while Lori decided to ask something out of curiosity.

"Mom what are we going to do today?" she inquired.

"Well girls you're getting a break from chores today," Rita proclaimed.

They all smiled at each other.

"But we're still doing our exercises," Lynn Sr. added which the girls except Lynn Jr. started groaning.

"Lincoln could you take Charles for a walk after you eat, then you can visit Clyde," Rita asked.

"Sure mom, Clyde told me yesterday he's spending the day with Nana Gail," he replied.

"Okay you can go to the arcade," Lynn Sr. said.

"Girls, after our exercises, we will have a discussion about your aggressive behavior, and later we're going for a drive in the country to get some fresh air," Rita told them.

When Lincoln finished eating, he placed his utensils in the sink then grabbed Charles leash from its place. Lincoln dressed quickly in his everyday clothes and left before the sisters were ready to begin their mandatory exercises.

The sisters followed Rita and Lynn Sr. for a power walk around the house for the fourth time. Lynn Sr. stopped when he reached the front porch. "That's enough girls," he remarked.

Rita said, "Drink some water then we'll call you in ten minutes."

Lincoln returned when his sisters were resting in the living room after doing calisthenics for ten minutes. He placed Charles leash back and headed upstairs and placed his wallet in his right pocket.

"Okay girls come into the dining room," Lynn Sr. commanded once Lincoln closed the front door.

"First we'd like to know is there anything bothering you," Rita asked once they were seated.

They gave their parents puzzled looks.

"We're worried that your tempers are going to be a problem when you become older. We're also appalled at your ill manners and the way you fight over every little thing," Rita said.

"Moms right," Lori said all of a sudden. Her sisters glanced at her in shock.

"I haven't stopped thinking about you saying I could be charged as an adult if Aidan's grandparents pressed charges," Lori admitted, "I'm the oldest and I should start acting mature."

"But mom it's normal for siblings to disagree," Luan asked

"It's not normal if it includes beating up each other so often," Rita replied.

"We haven't been responsible parents, we thought you could handle all of your problems on your own but we were wrong," Lynn Sr. told them.

"From now on you can come to us anytime you have a problem," Rita said.

"Regarding our neighbors you'll always keep on their good side, you can enjoy yourselves but show consideration at the same time," Lynn Sr. said.

"Do you understand girls," Rita asked.

"Yes Mom," they droned.

"Now you can change and relax, and later we'll go somewhere," Rita said.

Upon Lincoln's arrival at Gus, he spent an hour playing video games before deciding to buy a slice of pepperoni pizza and lemonade. None of his friends came today. After he finished the pizza, Lincoln continued playing his favorite game for twenty minutes until he had enough and decided to leave.

Vanzilla wasn't in the driveway when he arrived home and the house was unoccupied.

He found a note in Rita's handwriting taped on his dresser mirror.

 _Lincoln, we'll be back in about two hours, don't worry about dinner, dad will buy something at Penny's, love mom._

As Lincoln watched episodes of Dessert Storm he prerecorded the others were relaxing at a nature park miles from Royal Woods. Rita had driven almost forty minutes before reaching. The sisters remained unusually quiet during the drive and just looked out the windows at the passing scenery. Sometime later the family departed and Lynn Sr. stopped at Penny's and bought fish and chips dinners.

Luna's rebellion

It was business as usual for the family on Monday. On Tuesday afternoon while Lisa and the twins snoozed on Mr. Grouse's sofa after Lana and Lola did their homework while the other girls continued doing their own assignments, Mr. Grouse peeked inside the dining room.

"Girls I'm going to water my plants, I trust you'll behave while I'm gone," he told the sisters.

As soon as Mr. Grouse closed the front door, Luna spoke.

"Guys, I can't stand coming here another day tomorrow we're going to Sam's house."

The other sisters were astonished by Luna's revelation.

"And how are you going to contact Sam genius we don't have phones," Lynn whispered.

"I'll just borrow someone's phone during recess," Luna said.

"Aren't you forgetting that dad calls Mr. Grouse in the afternoon?" Lucy asked.

"I have that covered, I'll call dad and tell him before we got on the bus Lisa wasn't feeling well so we took her to the nurse's office, then we headed to Sam's since she lives just across the street from the school," Luna replied.

Lucy maintained a worried expression throughout the conversation.

"You think dad will believe you?" Lucy asked.

"Its dad, he'll believe anything we tell him," Lynn Jr. remarked confidently.

"At least we can watch some TV at Sam's, is it a deal then?" Luna added.

"You bet," Luan replied.

"Definitely," Lynn Jr. said, then the girls returned to their homework.

Sometime later, their father returned home and called Mr. Grouse to ask them to come home.

It was Wednesday morning before the first bell when Luna noticed a classmate standing at her locker and approached the girl.

"Hi Danielle would you mind if I use your cell phone," Luna asked.

"Sure Luna," Danielle replied. Sam was preparing breakfast when her phone rang.

"Hi Sam, it's me Luna," she heard on the other end.

"Hi Luna, but I thought you are grounded," Sam replied puzzled.

"We are but I'm calling to ask if I could bring my sisters to your house after school, we have to stay with our grumpy neighbor Mr. Grouse after school but today we've decided to ditch him," Luna asked.

"But your parents will be mad when they find out you're not at Mr. Grouse," Sam asked worriedly.

"We have that covered," Luna replied, then the bell rang

"Sorry have to go bye," Luna said hurriedly and handed Danielle the phone after hanging up.

That afternoon, Luna and Luan met Lynn Jr. at Royal Woods Middle at the school entrance then made the journey to the elementary school.

"Lana Lola and Lisa there's a change of plans, we're going to Sam's house," Luna announced boldly.

The younger sisters gasped at the revelation.

"May I remind you our father calls Mr. Grouse at exactly one forty in the afternoon," Lisa reminded Luna.

"That's why I'm calling dad and telling him you got sick before we could get on the bus and since her house is across the street we decided to let you rest then we'll come home later," Luna explained.

"We can't, Mom and dad might find out we're lying and punish us for another month," Lola protested.

Lynn Jr. crossed her arms then glowered at Lola.

"If you don't come with us, we'll tell mom and dad your little secret Lindsay Sweetwater told Lincoln about your sneaky behavior at your pageants," Lynn threatened.

Lola's eyes widened in sudden fear. "You wouldn't dare," she squeaked.

The older sisters frowned at the pageant queen.

"And you better not tattle on us either," Lynn Jr. added.

Lola sighed in defeat and uttered, "Fine I'll come along."

The sisters crossed the street carefully and arrived at Sam's house shortly. Sam was reading on the couch and heard Luna ringing the doorbell.

"Hi Luna, hi everyone," Sam said cheerfully once she opened the front door.

"Hello Sam" Luna replied, before embracing her friend.

"Hey Sam could you turn on the Cartoon Channel?" Luna asked Sam as they stepped inside the house. Sam turned to the channel and the younger girls plopped themselves on the couch with grateful smiles.

"Luan and Lynn we can watch TV in Sam's room," Luna said

"Wow you have your own TV," Lynn asked enthusiastically, then she and Luan followed Luna towards Sam's bedroom.

"Do you girls want strawberry shortcake?" Sam asked the younger sisters. They perked up immediately.

"Of course we do," Lana piped up

"Okay I'll be right back," Sam replied. After serving four slices of the dessert, Sam joined Luna at the kitchen table to listen to music.


	14. Rita finds out

As Luna and Sam listened to a new release from one of their favorite artiste on Sams' IPhone, Luna glanced at her watch and realized it was 1: 45 pm. Her father had changed the time he called Mr. Grouse in the afternoon to 2:00 pm and Lincoln was now taking the bus home.

"Sam, I have to call dad, where's your phone?" she asked Sam.

'It's on my dresser," her friend replied.

Luan and Lynn were engrossed in watching a teenage sitcom while laying on Sam's bed.

"Hey guys turn down the TV, I'm calling dad now," Luna asked. Luan pressed the mute button on the remote control. Luna grabbed Sam's phone and sat on the bed. Luna dialed her father's number then Luan and Lynn Jr. crowded around Luna to hear the conversation.

Lynn Sr. was still on his lunch break at this moment.

"Hello Lynn Sr. speaking," he answered and was taken by surprise upon hearing Luna's voice.

"Hi dad it's me Luna," she told him.

"Where did you get this phone?" he inquired.

"Listen dad, I'm calling from Sam's house Lisa said she wasn't feeling well before we could get on the bus so we went to the nurses office," Luna lied.

"Oh no was it anything serious?" he asked with concern.

"Anyway after the nurse treated Lisa I decided we'd go to Sam's house since she lives across the street from the school instead of taking Lisa all the way to Mr. Grouse," Luna continued.

"That was a smart idea," he replied, then said something unexpected, "Give me Sam's address and I'll pick you up in a few minutes." The sisters glanced at each other fearfully.

"Now what?" Luan whispered.

Luna thought quickly. "But dad you don't have to go through all that trouble, we'll take the bus home when Lisa feels better," Luna said.

"All right, make sure everyone does their homework," Lynn Sr. replied.

"Yes dad but I didn't get homework," she answered which was true.

"See you all later," he continued.

"Bye dad don't worry about us," Luna replied then turned off Sam's phone. Relieved Luna quickly sat on the bed and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness we pulled it off," Lynn Jr. remarked.

Meanwhile their father was talking to Mr. Grouse.

"Hello Bernard listen the girls have to stay behind after school so they won't be coming over," Lynn Jr. reported.

"That's okay Lynn," Mr. Grouse replied. Afterwards Lynn Sr. decided to place a call to Rita on her office phone. Rita occupied a small office beside Dr. Feinstein's and was looking through dental records at her desk.

"Hi sweetheart, how are you?" she asked.

"Hi Rita listen Luna just called me from Sam's house, she told me Lisa said she wasn't feeling well before they got on the bus," her husband reported.

"Oh my gosh did Luna tell you what happened to Lisa?" his wife asked anxiously.

"No but after Lisa was treated by the school nurse the girls decided they would stay at Sam's house since it's just across the street from the school," Lynn Sr. explained.

"That was good thinking on Luna's part," Rita told him.

"And she told me when Lisa feels better they will take the bus home," he added.

"Well glad to know they are trying to be more independent," Rita said, "Okay honey see you later."

"Bye Rita," Lynn Sr. said. After hanging up, suddenly Rita began wondering why Luna didn't mention what Lisa complained of and started to doubt Luna's story.

"I think I'll call Nurse Patty tomorrow morning and find out," she thought.

At 4:25 p.m. Luna, Luan and Sam were drinking soda and watching TV in Sam's room. Lisa had fallen asleep on Sam's bed. At present Lynn Jr. was outside in the backyard playing basketball alone and the twins were still parked on the sofa watching cartoons while Lucy was finishing her homework sitting on the living room floor. She was the only sister to receive homework.

Sam glanced at the time on her alarm clock and said to Luna, "Luna, it's almost four-thirty."

Luna gasped, "We lost track of time, Luan wake up Lisa while I tell the others we're leaving?"

She reluctantly went downstairs and approached the girls on the sofa.

"Guys we should leave now we have to get home before dinner," Luna said.

The twins both grumbled, "Aww Luna."

"Sorry we can't stay," Luna said before going outside.

"Hey Lynn we're going home," Luna said to her who was resting after shooting hoops for awhile.

When they returned inside, the other sisters were sitting on the sofa with their bags. A sleepy eyed Lisa released a yawn.

"Did you eat your snacks," Luna asked the younger girls.

"Yes we did," Lucy told her.

Sam stood before the sisters on the sofa. "It was nice having you all here," she told them.

"Bye Sam," the younger girls said before rising to their feet.

"Bye Luna it was great seeing you after all these weeks," Sam told her.

Once Luna and her sisters departed, they walked toward the nearest bus stop and in three minutes they were boarding the bus and arrived home twelve minutes later.

The next day once Rita arrived at the dental office, she stowed her handbag into a drawer then scrolled through the contacts of her phone and found the nurse's number at the elementary school and immediately dialed the number.

"Good Morning this is Nurse Patty speaking," Rita heard on the line.

"Good Morning, Nurse Patty, I'm Mrs. Loud, I'd like to know if my daughter Lisa came into your office yesterday? She has unruly brown hair and was accompanied by six other girls," she inquired.

"I don't recall seven girls coming here, Mrs. Loud, but I'll check my records," she replied puzzled.

"Sorry Mrs. Loud but there's no Lisa Loud here," she reported upon her return.

"Thanks that's all I needed to know, have a good day," Rita replied before hanging up. Her face started turning slightly red with anger.

"I can't believe those girls, how can they use Lisa like that?" she fumed. Rita composed herself then looked at her schedule before her first patient arrived.

That evening everyone was almost finished eating dinner when Rita decided to bust her daughters.

"Luna I had a very interesting talk with the school nurse today," she said

Suddenly all the girls became uneasy.

"Nurse Patty told me she didn't remember seven girls coming to see her. She checked her records and found that Lisa's name wasn't there," Rita told the apprehensive girls.

Lincoln, Lori and Leni gave looks of surprise.

Rita continued but with anger in her voice. "Luna, how could you pretend your sister wasn't feeling well just for a few hours of freedom?" she raged.

Luna looked at her regretfully and said, "But I'm tired of going to Mr. Grouse we needed a break."

"Yeah mom it's boring just doing our homework then waiting to go home," Luan complained.

"And mom I can't even play sports when I'm stuck at Mr. Grouse," Lynn Jr. complained.

"That's too bad, we decided you'd stay with him until your father comes home in the afternoons and we're keeping that arrangement," Rita said sternly, "And don't think you're getting away with fooling us, Luna this Saturday you will be doing the laundry by yourself,"

Luna's jaw nearly fell upon hearing her punishment. "But Mom I don't think I have enough experience to handle it on my own," she whined.

Rita then turned to the eldest girl. "Lori you're off duty this Saturday, you can watch TV on my laptop in my room," she said.

"Do I get my phone back?" Lori asked with a hopeful look in her eyes.

"No," Rita replied, "Luan do you have any parties to prepare for?"

"No mom," Luan answered.

"Then you are cleaning the bathroom. Junior you're mowing the lawn then cleaning the gutters," Lynn Sr. spoke.

"Aww dad," Lynn Jr. replied. The other girls looked fearfully at their mother.

"Don't worry Lisa you're not getting punished since your sisters were using you," Rita told her,

"Lana Lola and Lucy you're off the hook as well."

The younger sisters were relieved upon hearing they wouldn't be punished. There was silence for a few seconds before Lynn Sr. decided to speak.

"Didn't it occur to you that one of us would call Nurse Patty?" he said, which was met with complete silence from the sisters.

"What you girls did was unacceptable. Luna, Luan and Junior you three are on kitchen duty for the next three days starting tonight, you can begin by clearing the table," Lynn Sr. declared, which earned a collective groan from the girls.

The others departed quickly with Lincoln heading into the kitchen to cut a slice of the cherry pie laying on the kitchen counter.

Luna, Luan and Lynn Jr. remained seated for a few seconds before getting up and remained in a solemn mood while they cleared the table.

"Guys we goofed up big time," Luna said regretfully while stacking plates together.

"Where did we go wrong?" Luan opined.

"Now I know how Lincoln must feel when his plans fail," Lynn said.

"I heard that," Lincoln called out sarcastically while putting the slice of the pie on a plate.

"Yeah but at least we got to watch TV at Sam's house," Luan replied.

They entered the kitchen carrying what they could and placed the items beside the sink before returning to finish the job while Lincoln went into his room to eat his pie. Meanwhile Rita began working on her novel in the master bedroom while Lynn Sr. checked his emails on the computer.

Later that night Rita checked on the children upstairs in their beds before joining Lynn Sr. for a discussion at the dining table.

"Honey I was thinking that Leni and Lucy shouldn't be punished any longer," Rita asked.

"I agree," Lynn Sr. replied, "But Lucy cannot stay home alone, she'll still go to summer school. In the afternoons Lincoln can go over to Mr. Grouse and get her."

"That's a good idea,' Rita said then yawned. "Let's go to bed."


	15. Leni and Lucy

Next morning…

The sisters including Leni were having cereal for breakfast which they ate in silence. Rita was dressing Lily at the moment. When Lynn Jr. was almost finished, a little milk was left in her bowl. She placed the bowl to her mouth and began slurping it annoying Lola and Luna and they scowled at their sister.

"Cut it out bro," Luna protested.

"Yeah do you have to eat like a pig?" Lola declared angrily. Suddenly Lincoln entered to have breakfast earlier. Today he wasn't in the mood to visit Gus preferring instead to stay home. After breakfast Lincoln would telephone Clyde to say he wouldn't be joining him and his others friends.

"Good Morning," he told them cheerfully.

"What are you gonna do today?" Luan asked.

"I'm just going to read comics and other things," Lincoln answered innocently.

Suddenly Lynn Jr. became irritated about Lincoln's response and scowled a little. She thought, "It's so unfair he gets to relax at home while I have to attend school."

Lincoln placed two waffles in the toaster and made some hot cocoa. The girls placed their bowls and spoons in the sink before brushing their teeth.

Four minutes later their father was shouting from the stairs, "Girls hurry up."

The girls except Leni were soon downstairs sporting frowns on their faces which their parents noticed.

"Cheer up girls summer school ends next week Thursday," Lynn Sr. said.

While Vanzilla was halfway down the road, Lincoln finished the last mouthful of breakfast then washed the things he used and the bowls and spoons. After feeding Lana's pets he hurried upstairs to call Clyde.

"Hey Clyde I'm not coming to hang out with you today since I made other plans,"

Lincoln explained.

"That's okay buddy," Clyde responded.

"See you tomorrow then," Lincoln replied before hanging up. He took the second remote from a drawer, settled on the couch and turned to the Cartoon Channel.

Minutes later Leni appeared by his side, "Bye Lincoln, I'm going to work."

Lincoln locked the door after Leni then returned to the couch.

"Finally," he uttered under his breath. An hour later nature called. While stepping out of the bathroom Lincoln noticed the twin's bedroom door ajar. Instinctively he pushed open the door and entered. Since his parents stripped the sister's bedrooms of almost everything he hadn't stepped inside any of them except Lisa's.

He glanced at the bare walls where Lola's portraits and Lana's caps were previously.

"Right now Lola would probably be having one of her tea parties," he mused while standing at the low table Lola reigned over with her stuffed animals. Lana's pets were living temporarily in the basement.

He then entered Lori and Leni's bedroom and noticed a few cosmetics were still on the dresser. He stood there for a few moments before changing out of his pajamas then returning downstairs to watch more cartoons.

Later…

"Kids before you go, we have something important to say," Rita told her children before they could rush away after dinner.

"Leni and Lucy last night we decided you're longer punished, you're free tonight," Rita announced. The other sisters glanced at each other in disbelief.

"What!" Lori managed to say

Lynn Sr. added, "We felt your behavior at the block party wasn't as serious as that boy getting assaulted."

"Leni you can borrow my phone until your sister's get theirs back," Rita said.

Lynn Jr. started grumbling, "Why do we have to stay punished?"

"Because you could have sent Aidan to the hospital," Rita commented.

"Could I borrow your phone tonight, mom I got tomorrow off? I want to call Becky so we can go to the mall," Leni asked.

"Okay Leni but you have to return it to me every night," Rita said.

"Luna, Luan and Junior remember you're still on kitchen duty," Lynn Sr. reminded. The three girls began clearing the table while everyone else departed. Lincoln was going to watch videos on his laptop in his bedroom for a while before turning in for the night.

Later Lucy walked into her bedroom where Lynn Jr. was occupied doing push-ups. The athlete was still miffed about her parent's decision about Leni and Lucy.

"Hey Lynn," Lucy said, which was ignored by the athlete.

Sensing that something was bothering her sister Lucy asked, "Is anything wrong?"

Lynn stopped after one more push up and snapped, "No."

Lucy was surprised by Lynn's tone and decided not to further question her.

"Night Lynn," was all she said before laying on her mattress.

Saturday

Rita asked Becky if she could drop Lisa, Lucy and the twins at the library before heading to the mall with Leni. Rita had convinced the library staff to end Lola's suspension under the condition that Lola behaved herself. Lynn Sr. asked Lynn to meet him outside after breakfast. Lynn Sr. was waiting outside with the mower. Lincoln was busy collecting the garbage.

"You can start mowing the lawn," her father said before leaving to clean Vanzilla.

When Lynn finished the job, she retrieved the ladder from the garage. As she removed leaves from the gutter, Lincoln walked by, carrying his knapsack filled with video games and comics over his shoulder.

"Hey son are you hanging out with Clyde today," Lynn Sr. asked which suddenly bothered Lynn.

"Yes dad, bye Lynn," Lincoln replied before leaving.

"Why does Lincoln get to have all the fun," she fumed. Meanwhile Luna was sitting on the basement steps reading while some sheets were being washed.

Lincoln and Clyde played games and read comics for a long time on the couch until Harold appeared.

"Clyde, it's dinnertime," Harold said while Clyde played Muscle Fish with Lincoln.

"Okay dad," Clyde replied. Lincoln glanced at his watch and realized it was almost dinnertime for his family

"I have to get home for dinner," he declared then turned off the game.

"Hey Lincoln tomorrow I'm visiting my cousin Tamara in Hazeltucky. I'm coming back next Sunday," Clyde explained while Lincoln packed his video games and comics into his knapsack.

"Well enjoy yourself," Lincoln said.

When Lincoln finished packing Clyde followed him to the front door. As he stepped outside Lincoln turned around and said, "Have a safe trip," before walking home.

That evening dinner was barbeque wings and potato salad that Luna, Lynn Jr. and Luan helped Rita prepare.

"That chicken was fantastic mom," Lincoln exclaimed after the last mouthful.

"Hey I helped to cook it," Luna replied.

"Lincoln Lucy and Leni you can have ice cream later," Rita said. Lincoln waited until the kitchen was cleaned before getting some vanilla ice cream with Lucy and Leni.

The next day Lincoln participated in the Sunday morning exercises then a half hour later Lynn Sr. took the family to the nature park where they spent two hours relaxing and eating ham sandwiches Rita made the night before.

On Monday the girls going to summer school were impatient for Thursday to arrive. On Wednesday evening Rita had some news to share after dinner.

"Hey everyone tomorrow my last patient is arriving at four fifteen for a tooth extraction so I won't be home to supervise the girls," she announced.

"Hmm they could stay with Mr. Grouse until you arrive," Lynn Sr. suggested which made the sisters frown in disapproval.

"No he might think we're pushing it," Rita said which pleased the girls.

"Mom I could ask permission to leave work at four and get them at Mr. Grouse," Lori suggested.

"Okay Lori and you'll be in charge until I get home," Rita said.

"Lori you can find anything simple to fix for dinner," Lynn Sr. said.

"Okay dad," Lori replied.

And I'm locking the attic door so you cannot gain access to your toys and hide the remote control," he added. Later the girls did some reading before going to bed.

The next day Lincoln was standing at the bus stop after leaving work. Today had been a tedious one for Lincoln. At 1:00 p.m. a woman had complained about a toilet overflowing in the ladies room causing water to spill all over the bathroom floor. While Rudy unclogged the toilet Lincoln was asked to wipe up the water and the job lasted for twenty minutes. His father allowed him to rest in the employee lounge afterwards until his shift ended at two p.m. Needless to say, Lincoln wanted to get home quickly and rest until dinnertime.

"Where is that dang bus?" he muttered under his breath then glanced at his watch. The bus was supposed to have arrived seven minutes ago.

The heat was becoming unbearable so he decided to take shelter under a nearby tree then the bus arrived instantly.

"Thank goodness," Lincoln muttered as he stepped inside the vehicle. To his relief, the air-conditioner was on. After paying his fare, the exhausted boy sat in the seat behind the driver. Fifteen minutes later he was stepping out of the vehicle at the stop near his house.

"Sweet relief, I'm home," Lincoln rejoiced silently as he walked down the pathway. Inside his bedroom, Lincoln kicked off his new sneakers before laying on his bed.


	16. Lincoln vs Lynn Jr

**Lincoln and Lynn Jr.**

Later…

Fifty minutes later Lincoln slowly opened his eyes. His stomach started growling so he headed to the kitchen to fix himself a snack. After fixing a cheese sandwich and pouring a glass of milk, he sat at the kitchen table. While eating, Lincoln wondered what to occupy himself with that evening. He decided to watch another DVD Zach gave him for his birthday.

Later the siblings ate hot dogs prepared by Lori for dinner. When he finished eating Lincoln retrieved the disc and pushed it inside the DVD player then turned on the player with the DVD remote. Before long Lincoln pressed the pause button then rushed upstairs to the bathroom.

Upon his return he discovered the DVD player was off and Lynn sitting on the couch watching a sports channel.

Showing annoyance, Lincoln approached the sports lover and crossed his arms.

"You cannot watch TV, you're grounded," he accused.

"I don't care," Lynn replied arrogantly without a care.

"You did it deliberately, turn it back on," Lincoln demanded.

"Why do you have to like that nerdy stuff anyway?" Lynn shot back.

The disgruntled boy quickly grabbed the DVD remote and pressed the on button.

"Give it back Stinkin," Lynn shouted. Suddenly the unaffectionate nickname that Lincoln always shrugged off before made him angry.

"Stop calling me that, you're the one that stinks," Lincoln screamed back.

"I can call you whatever I want Stinkin," Lynn said rudely then grabbed the remote from one end

Lincoln quickly held onto the remote. "Give it back you dumb jock," he shouted.

Lynn shouted, "Make me, nerd."

Both started wrestling for the remote and continued with the name calling.

Lincoln: "Give it back Butch."

Lynn: "Rabbit teeth."

Lincoln. "Knucklehead."

Lynn: "Pansy."

Lincoln: "Mascu-Lynn."

Lincoln managed to wrestle the remote away from his sister then Lynn made a caustic remark regarding her brother.

"Fine but don't call me when you end up a fifty year old living in our mothers basement with your video games and dumb comics," Lynn jeered.

Lincoln's face turned crimson with anger at the insult. He threw the DVD remote on the couch, walked up to his sporty sister and shouted, "Oh yeah, that's coming from someone who's going to be a washed-up athlete who ends up flipping burgers and serving fries at McDonalds."

"All right you asked for it," yelled Lynn, then rushed towards him, then punched him on his left cheek. Lincoln staggered for a few seconds, then rushed towards her and with one quick motion, punched Lynn on the right side of her face. Lynn fell backwards and ended up sliding on the floor towards the stairs but when she tried getting up, Lynn felt her brother's entire weight on her chest. He landed one punch in her chest.

The enraged boy screamed at her, "I'm tired of dealing with your crap. As soon as I leave the room, you turn off the DVD to watch your dumb sports."

"Get off me," Lynn sputtered while trying to push him off, then Lincoln slapped her right cheek.

"That is for giving me those awful Dutch ovens, the Luche Libres and belching in my face," he yelled.

Lincoln felt someone grabbing him by the waist. It happened to be Lori.

"That's enough Lincoln." she scolded as she held him tightly.

As Lincoln struggled in Lori's grasp he shouted, "Let me go Lori, I want to smash her face in."

"No Lincoln," Lori growled while clenching her teeth.

While he continued trying to wrestle out of his elder sister's grasp, Lori carried him towards the couch and placed the crimson-faced boy down. Lincoln was still breathing heavily and his white hair was disheveled. Luna and Leni carried their injured sister to the armchair. Luna rushed upstairs to grab the first aid kit from the bathroom cupboard.

"Now start explaining why both of you are fighting," Lori commanded.

"I'm tired of her pushing me around. She turned off the DVD I was watching while I was in the bathroom," he yelled.

"Well if you only acted like a real boy should and enjoyed sports instead of all that nerdy stuff, then I wouldn't hassle you," Lynn shouted.

"And you're a horrible, ill-mannered jerk, why do you like picking on me," Lincoln shouted back.

Then suddenly, everyone heard a familiar voice…

"What's going on?" Rita exclaimed with a tone of disbelief. But she was not alone.

"Mom! Pop-Pop!" Lori and Leni exclaimed.

"What the heck is going on?" Albert Morgan, or "Pop-Pop" the name his grandkids affectionately call him queried. He carried a duffle bag filled with some clothing and other essentials.

Luna had now returned with the first aid kit and rushed towards Lynn. Lucy, Lana, Lola and Lisa were reading at the dining table when the fight started and were standing in the dining room entrance watching in shock while watching their brother attacking their sister. At the moment Lily was asleep upstairs.

"Lincoln and Lynn started fighting because she turned off his show on the DVD player while he was in the bathroom," Lori finally explained to the adults.

Rita gasped in shock when she noticed Lynn's condition and rushed towards her while Pop-Pop followed her. The elderly man placed his bag next to the coffee table.

"How are you feeling Lynn?" Rita asked concerned while Luna applied a bandage to a small cut Lynn received on her right elbow when she fell on the floor during Lincoln's assault.

Rita didn't wait for a response. "I'm taking you to urgent care because we don't know if your cheek is dislocated," she said worried.

"That's a great idea mom," Lori added while Rita tried helping Lynn to stand up.

"I think I can manage on my own mom," Lynn protested.

"Should we call dad and tell him about what happened?" Lucy asked her mother.

"No Lucy we shouldn't bother him at the restaurant," Rita replied as she and Lynn headed towards the front door.

"Oh mom," Lori asked, "Should we fix some dinner for Pop-Pop?"

"No, we had something to eat already," Rita explained.

After mother and daughter departed, the younger girls rushed to Albert and embraced their beloved grandfather.

"We're so glad you're here Pop-Pop," the twin girls cried in unison.

"Why didn't mom tell us you were coming for a visit?" Leni asked.

"Well she wanted to surprise you, I decided to spend two days with my grandkids," he explained.

Albert then turned his attention to his grandson who was now holding an ice pack on his injured cheek Leni had given him. Luna and Luan, who were interrupted by the arguing while washing the dishes, returned to the kitchen to finish the job while the other girls went upstairs.

Albert sat beside him and asked in a concerned voice, "Are you all right kiddo?"

"Don't worry it doesn't hurt that much," the boy responded.

"Both of you could have handled the situation without fighting," Albert remarked.

Lincoln began, "I know Pop-Pop, but you cannot reason with Lynn.

Albert knitted his brow and thought, "So Junior did it just to spite him."

Lincoln continued, "She likes pestering me over the fact I'm not athletic and because I like comics and video games. She thinks I should be interested in sports because I'm a boy. She used to play a disgusting prank on me called a Dutch oven."

"How do you pull a Dutch oven?" Albert asked curiously.

When Lincoln was finished explaining, Albert wasn't pleased and sported a look of disapproval.

"She stopped doing that after I did it to her once," Lincoln explained, "And she sometimes belches in my face."

"I'm going to have a serious talk with Rita and my son-in-law about her behavior," Albert thought.

The boy released a weary sigh. "I'm going upstairs. Do you need anything?"

"No I'm fine," the elderly man replied.

While Albert watched his grandson ascend the stairs, certain memories of his childhood flashed across his mind and he became concerned.

While Rita drove home after Lynn got treated at the urgent care, there was silence for a few moments.

Rita asked, "Lynn I heard you saying Lincoln should be acting like a real boy when I was opening the front door."

"Because he could least watch a sports channel once in a while," Lynn protested.

Rita sighed in frustration then continued, "You haven't been picking on your brother for years have you?"

"No mom," Lynn replied truthfully, "I'm just tired of waiting for my friends to come over to practice sports with."

"You're going to apologize for turning off his program," Rita added.

"Yes mom," she replied meekly, then asked, "Are you going to punish Lincoln for beating me up?"

"I'll deal with that later," Rita told her daughter, then started the ignition and started driving home.

" _Do I punish him even though she provoked him into hitting her? I'll have to talk it over with Lynn Sr."_

Rita suddenly realized she and Lynn Sr. only seemed to punish their daughters whenever they were involved in some misconduct with Lincoln. She recalled the incident where they totaled Vanzilla while brawling inside the old van over the 'sweet spot' for a road trip that morning and when their competitiveness got the worst of them and sold practically everything in the house at the last family garage sale just to see who could earn the most money.

"Oh and one more thing, from today you're not bullying your brother anymore," Rita said in a very serious tone.

"Yes Mom," Lynn responded glumly while gazing out the window.

Moments later Rita came to a decision…


	17. Punishment

Ten minutes later Rita and Lynn Jr. arrived home and Albert, Lana and Leni were watching Audition on TV.

"We're back," Rita announced.

"Is she seriously hurt," Albert inquired with concern in his voice.

"She'll be fine, her jaw isn't broken," Rita explained.

Albert and the other girls were glad to hear that.

"Girls go to your rooms and Lori tell Lincoln to come downstairs?" Rita asked her oldest daughter.

"Yes mom," Lori replied. Lynn decided to sneak upstairs with her sisters but Rita had other ideas.

"Hold it right there!" Rita ordered, stopping Lynn in her tracks. "Remember you have an apology to make."

Lynn frowned as she sat next to Pop-Pop and Rita told the other girls to go upstairs.

Meanwhile as Lincoln watched videos on his laptop Lori was knocking on the door. "Who's there?" Lincoln asked.

He heard Lori's voice. "Moms back, she wants to talk to you downstairs."

"I'll be right there," he called out. Instantly Lincoln became nervous and began thinking about what kind of punishment Rita would dole out.

While Lincoln walked down the stairs, the other sisters opened their doors and walked quietly to the landing to eavesdrop on the conversation.

Lincoln noticed Lynn looking rather annoyed as he entered the living room.

"Lincoln please sit down," Rita requested.

He sat in the armchair. Rita was sitting between her father and Lynn.

Silence filled the room for five seconds before Rita spoke. "Lynn, I believe you have an apology for Lincoln."

First, she cleared her throat before speaking.

"Lincoln I apologize for turning off your program. I knew you really wanted to watch it but I decided to spite you," Lynn blurted out.

Lincoln sat in the armchair sporting an aloof expression on his face.

"Okay I accept your apology," the boy said decisively.

Lynn turned to Rita. "All right I've apologized, I'm going to my room."

"Not yet. Dad, a few months ago, she wanted Lincoln to attend one of her baseball games but he wasn't interested so she forced him to go by threatening him with her baseball bat," Rita revealed.

Albert was taken aback and gave his granddaughter a look of disbelief.

"Junior is that true?" he finally blurted out. Lynn nodded.

His voice changed to anger. "That is totally unacceptable Junior," he said crossly.

Upstairs, the girls who were listening exchanged quick glances. They weren't used to hearing their beloved Pop-Pop raise his voice.

Rita gave her father five seconds to compose himself before turning her attention back to her son.

"Lincoln, I'm not going to punish you."

Lynn looked at Rita with an expression of disbelief. Meanwhile, Lincoln sported a bewildered look on his face.

The girls who were eavesdropping upstairs looked at each other in surprise.

"Are you serious Mom? Look at what he did to me," Lynn protested.

"Hold on a minute," Rita said, "He's not getting punished for hitting you because you disobeyed the no TV rule. As punishment, you're going to Aunt Ruth on Saturday morning and helping her with chores. She called me yesterday and said her back was acting up," Lynn groaned in despair.

"But Lincoln while your sisters are still under punishment, I'm unplugging both cords from the TV and DVD player to prevent another incident, you can watch TV on your laptop. You're sleeping on the couch while Pop-Pop sleeps in your room," Rita continued.

"Yes Mom," Lincoln replied.

"Both of you can go upstairs," Rita said.

Upon hearing that the other sisters disappeared into their bedrooms.

As Lynn glumly ascended the stairs, Lincoln who had remained silent finally spoke.

"Mom thank you," he said before heading upstairs too.

Albert and Rita remained quiet for a few moments until Rita spoke.

"I'm sorry about what happened dad, you see Junior tends to be rather aggressive with Lincoln," she explained.

"Rita, I'd like to have a serious discussion with you and Lynn about her behavior, Lincoln mentioned some unpleasant things she's done that I'm not pleased about," Albert remarked.

Rita sighed, "Okay dad we'll discuss it on Sunday. In the meantime I need some coffee and something to eat. Can I get you anything?" she asked.

"Yes Rita I could do with a warm glass of milk and some cookies," he replied.

#################################################################

"I can't believe he's getting away with it," Lynn complained bitterly as she walked into her bedroom. She was about to slam the door in a rage but decided against it and flopped on her mattress.

"He must have some guardian angel protecting him," she ranted.

Lucy had remained silent for quite a while before speaking

"Why do you have to pick on Lincoln anyway?" she asked.

"Because it's fun," Lynn retorted smugly.

"But it's unfair he shouldn't get bullied by his own sisters," Lucy declared

"Lighten up Luce, it's what older siblings do," Lynn told her.

"If you were Lincoln you wouldn't like it if someone surprises you with a wrestling hold or covers you with a blanket after passing gas in your face," Lucy continued.

"He's a boy, I'm not having tea parties with him or painting each other's nails," Lynn defended.

Then Lori and Luna entered their bedroom.

"Lynn I can't believe you threatened Lincoln with a bat, you're lucky mom didn't ground you for another month," Lori stated heatedly.

"You were eavesdropping?" Lynn answered scowling, then scoffed, "Why are you so concerned about how I treat him, you have treated him way harsher compared to the way you treat us? I mean kicking him out of Vanzillla because Lisa refused to answer a question so you could win a trip to a spa because she told you he convinced her to stop acting like a brain."

"I realize that now and I'm regretting it, As the oldest I should have set a better example by not pushing him around," Lori said ruefully.

"I have to confess, I felt guilty every time we ganged up on him," Luna admitted.

Lucy looked surprised at Luna's revelation.

"We should have allowed him to have the sweet spot and even though we bought the Zombie cereal for him l felt guilty for three days about grabbing it away from him and threatening him when Luan told him because my fog machine melted Mr. Coconuts face that I should pay for the damages."

"Well I think I'll do some reading Goodnight," Lori said then walked out with Luna.

Ten minutes later while Rita and Pop-Pop were eating at the dining table, Rita was deep in thought about something.

"Dad remember when I told you about that argument some of the girls had with that boy at the block party," Rita began.

Pop-Pop looked at his daughter quizzically.

"I didn't tell you that Lola pushed the boy aside for a piece of cake and when he started arguing with her, Lori, Leni, Luna, Luan, Junior, and Lisa confronted him. Anyway he insulted them and they jumped on him except Leni."

"What," Pop-Pop exclaimed with shock

"After the fight was broken up, Mr. Winters, the President of the Association said the entire family are uninvited to any more functions, the girls are being punished until further notice," Rita admitted

"I must say I'm pretty disappointed with the girls," Pop-Pop remarked after shaking his head.

"There have been other incidents involving mainly the girls," Rita admitted.

"One time Lincoln wanted me to buy a certain cereal but I said the grocery budget wasn't enough to buy treats so he offered to do the shopping. The girls insisted on going but misbehaved in the store and the management banned the family from shopping there for a while. Another time Lynn and I had to reschedule a family trip to the Grand Vista Gorge because they destroyed the van by fighting over a seat Lincoln called the sweet spot, I grounded them including Lincoln to the living room for the weekend so they could learn to get along better," Rita confessed.

"The reason I never told you about those incidents is because I didn't want to you to think Lynn and I were bad parents," Rita admitted.

"It's okay sweetheart, you and Lynn are trying your best," Pop-Pop reassured her.

"There's also a problem with the other girls bullying Lincoln sometimes we don't know how to address the matter," Rita added.

Albert gave Rita a concerned look, then said, "Honey you can call me so I could helped both of you with any problem sometimes."

They continued eating in silence until they were finished.

"Excuse me dad," she said. Rita picked up the mugs and plates and headed to the kitchen while Albert returned to the living room to rest on the couch.

Meanwhile Lincoln who was reading a comic decided to put on his pajamas and get some sleep until Pop-Pop was ready to turn in. Someone then knocked on the door.

"Lincoln could I speak with you for a minute?" Luna asked.

"Come in," he responded. Luna hesitated a little before speaking.

"I just want to apologize for the times I treated you badly, grabbing the cereal from you in the grocery store and demanding you hand over the quarter you found in the couch cushions and beating you over the sweet spot."

After Lincoln gave her a little smile he replied, "Luna you don't have to apologize, I have actually forgiven all of you for those things."

Really Luna replied, "Thanks bro."

"Well I'm going to read for a while before bed, tomorrow Mom is sending us to the community center day camp Goodnight bro," Luna said.

"Goodnight Luna," Lincoln responded. Once she closed the door Lincoln removed his pajamas from a drawer before showering. After putting on his pajamas Lincoln fell asleep.

 **A/N: Rita decided not to punish Lincoln because Lynn Jr. caused the fight in the first place. I believe when a bullied child fights back only the bully should be punished. I know there's going to be complaints about demonizing the sisters for treating Lincoln badly. I'm not pretending that he doesn't subject his sisters to emotional blackmail and manipulations. Lincoln is the reason why Vanzilla was totaled. He could have spoken with his parents about having to deal with their horseplay and violent games like Auto Attack on road trips and ask them to have a stern talk with his sisters to behave themselves during the trip instead of spending months figuring out the perfect spot in the van where he wouldn't get bothered by any of his sisters.**


	18. Going to Aunt Ruth

Later that night a green sedan drove up to the Loud residence at 9: 20 with Lynn Sr. sitting inside. His reason for coming home that late was because he stayed behind to work on the payroll.

"Thanks Kentauro," he said gratefully before stepping out.

"Not a problem Lynn," his friend replied before driving away.

Inside the house Lynn Sr. noticed Lincoln making up the couch with his sheets.

"Hi kiddo I take it Pop-Pop's here," he asked.

Lincoln replied, "Good night dad, yes he's here."

"Well goodnight kiddo," Lynn Sr. replied before heading to make hot chocolate. After drinking the beverage and rinsing the mug and spoon, he entered the master bedroom where Rita was reading a novel.

"Hi sweetheart," Rita said with a smile.

"Good evening dear," Lynn Sr. replied then kissed Rita on her right cheek

While he changed into his pajamas, Rita asked, "How was your day, honey?"

He replied, "It went perfectly fine, I made an appointment to see the doctor next week Tuesday."

Rita smiled then allowed him a minute to relax once he laid beside her.

"Honey Lincoln and Junior had a terrible fight this evening," Rita said.

He immediately sat straight up. "Really, what happened?" he inquired.

"Lori told us they started fighting because Junior turned off the show Lincoln was watching on the DVD player while he was using the bathroom. Lynn received some injuries from Lincoln during the fight. I took her to the urgent care in case her jaw was broken but she was fine," Rita explained.

Lynn Sr. remained dumfounded for a while. "What is the matter with these girls?" he said peeved.

"I'm sending Junior to Aunt Ruth's on Saturday as punishment to help with chores and she's cleaning the kitchen by herself after dinner tomorrow," Rita explained.

Her husband remained pensive for a moment before saying, "Well at least Lincoln finally stood up to one of the girls."

Rita gasped, then asked, "Are you saying you approve of Lincoln attacking Junior?"

"Well her injuries weren't serious, so I'm not angry with him," he replied.

"So did you punish him?" Lynn Sr. asked after a few moments.

"No, but I unplugged the cords from the TV and DVD player to avoid resentment when " Rita replied. A few more seconds of silence passed.

"Honey I think we should take Lana off punishment, I think she's learned her lesson by now," Lynn Sr. added.

"I guess that's okay," Rita answered, then she remembered something else.

"I told the girls they could stay home tomorrow with dad and they'll attend the day camp on Monday," Rita asked

"That makes sense," her husband replied, then yawned.

"Good night honey," he added before dozing off.

The next morning Lori's friend Whitney drove her and Rita to work since Lynn Sr. was leaving at nine-thirty. Lincoln remained sleeping on the couch until his dad woke him at nine am and told him to sleep in the master bedroom. After Lynn Sr. ate some oatmeal he began drinking his morning cup of coffee. Suddenly Albert walked into the dining room and smiled at his son in law.

"Good morning Lynn," he said genially.

"Morning Albert I hope you slept well," Lynn Sr. replied.

"Yes thanks for asking," Albert responded.

"I left some oatmeal on the stove for you," Lynn Sr. said.

Albert sat across from Lynn Sr. upon returning with the oatmeal and a cup of freshly brewed coffee.

Albert took three mouthfuls of oatmeal before addressing his son-in- law, "I take it Rita informed you about the fight between Junior and Lincoln."

Lynn Sr. answered, "Yes she told me, I'm glad Junior's injuries weren't serious."

Albert nodded, then replied, "Last night Rita told me there's an issue with Lincoln getting bullied by the girls sometimes. I would like to discuss the problem with both of you when it's convenient."

"All right then," Lynn Sr. replied.

They ate silently until Lynn Sr. finished his coffee.

"Well I have to get ready for work," he said, before going into the kitchen with his empty bowl and coffee mug.

Luna awoke to sunlight streaming through her window at 10:00 am. Last night Rita informed the girls they were staying home. Luna washed her face then went downstairs for breakfast. Leni had already left for work. Luan and Lincoln were eating pancakes and fried sausages Pop-Pop prepared. Soon the other girls arrived and afterwards, they thanked Pop-Pop for making their breakfast.

"Well, I'm going to the arcade with Rusty and Zach," Lincoln said while rising from his seat. Lincoln was already dressed with his wallet in his pocket.

"Have fun kiddo," Pop-Pop replied, "Girls after you wash the dishes, I would like to have a word with you."

"Okay Pop-Pop," Luan replied.

Twenty minutes after Luan and Lynn Jr. finished in the kitchen the sisters were seated on the couch with Pop-Pop sitting on the small armchair.

"I'd just like to discuss a very serious matter your mom told me about last night."

The girls gave each other puzzled glances.

"Your mom said you bully Lincoln sometimes, is that true?" Pop-Pop asked.

The sisters began fidgeting, then Luna decided to speak.

"Well whenever we ask him to help us with something and he says no or says he doesn't have the time we get angry then we threaten, blackmail or guilt trip him into helping us. I sometimes felt bad about doing it," Luna said.

"And sometimes I play pranks on Lincoln but I do it to everyone," Luan added.

Lynn Jr was next. "It's what siblings do, he seems to deal with it just fine."

"No Junior, you don't know if it affects Lincoln personally and he's pretending it doesn't bother him," Pop-Pop replied, "Ruth and I had to endure Sylvia's bullying and we couldn't do anything about it because my folks thought girls weren't capable of being bullies. Promise you'll stop picking on him okay."

The girls nodded.

"She also mentioned the time you all behaved badly at the supermarket and got the family banned from shopping there temporarily," Albert added, "Luna, Luan and Junior you should realize the three of you are too old to misbehave in public."

"Yes Pop-Pop, we know," Luna replied.

"You're free to go," he said. They rushed to tidy their bedrooms before playing board games. Luan had to perform at a birthday party on Sunday and went to prepare an act afterwards. During Rita's lunchtime she placed a call to Aunt Ruth.

"Hi Ruthie I was wondering since you have back problems if Junior can come and help you with chores tomorrow," Rita spoke.

"Well I could use the assistance," Ruth remarked after a three second pause.

"All right Ruthie I'll drop her off after breakfast, oh and could you take her back home after she's finished. I have to stay with the other kids because Lynn will have Vanzilla that afternoon," Rita added.

"I'll do that sweetheart," Ruth replied, "Bye Rita," then hung up the phone.

Two hours after playing video games at Gus Lincoln was enjoying pizza with his two friends. He decided it wasn't necessary to mention the fight between himself and Lynn.

"I cannot wait to start middle school," Liam declared, "What about you Lincoln?"

"Yeah I wonder how our first day will be like?" he replied.

"I'm so glad you're only working for one more week Lincoln," Zach said.

"Yeah me too, then I can spend more time with you guys," Lincoln replied.

"Say guys how about coming over to my house tomorrow afternoon at one and play video games," Rusty suggested.

"Fine by me," Liam replied

"Me too," Lincoln added. They continued playing games for another hour before heading home.

For dinner that evening, the family enjoyed take-out food Lynn Sr. bought from Aloha Comrade since Pop-Pop hadn't tasted their food before.

"That meal was quite delicious," Albert said with satisfaction when everyone finished eating.

Thanks Albert, glad you enjoyed it," Lynn Sr. replied beaming.

"Lana your father and I decided you're off punishment tomorrow," Rita said

"I hope you learned not to leave Hops at home when we ask you to," Rita added.

"Yes mom I'll listen to you next time," Lana replied.

After dinner everyone rushed off to read in the living room while Lincoln went upstairs to read comics before going to bed.

Saturday morning…

Lynn Jr. was still upstairs laying on her mattress while the others ate a late breakfast. Rita became annoyed upon noticing her absence.

"Now where is Junior," Rita mused.

"She's still in bed," Lucy replied. Rita sighed in frustration before going upstairs to wake Lynn for breakfast.

"Wake up Junior," Rita called while shaking Lynn.

"Whhat!" she mumbled before opening her eyes

"Junior get up, remember you're helping Aunt Ruth today." Rita responded.

"Please don't let me go there," Lynn pleaded.

"Junior, I'm giving you three minutes to get up, wash your face and get downstairs for breakfast." Rita commanded.

"Fine," Lynn grumbled. Once Rita departed, Lynn rose and headed to the bathroom.

After breakfast Rita said, "Lynn get dressed and wait for me in the living room."

Ten minutes later Rita walked into the living room carrying Lily.

"Let's go, Junior," Rita commanded. After dropping Lynn off Rita was going grocery shopping. Lynn reluctantly climbed into the passenger seat of Vanzilla. Lynn remained sullen throughout the entire ride to Aunt Ruth.

"Do whatever Ruthie says," Rita said as Lynn unbuckled the seatbelt upon arrival.

Lynn dragged her feet towards Ruth's house. She waited two minutes after ringing the doorbell for Ruth to answer.

"Good you're here," Ruth said. As Lynn stepped inside,

"What should I do first?" she asked while following Ruth towards the bathroom.

"I need you to clean the bathtub because I cannot bend over to scrub it," she replied, "I placed the cleaning supplies in the bathroom. After you're finished I want you to mow the lawn." Lynn groaned inwardly.

As Lynn Jr. sprayed the cleaner in the bathtub she thought, "Why did I get myself into this?"


	19. Teresa versus Rita

While Lynn began the task of cleaning the grimy bathtub, the other children were busy around the house doing chores that Rita assigned during breakfast. Lori was back on laundry duty with Luna while Lucy and Luan washed the breakfast dishes. Lola was vacuuming while Lisa dusted all the furniture. Leni wasn't working today at the mall. Lynn Sr. told Kentauro yesterday that he would be in charge of the restaurant in the morning. At the moment Albert was sitting on the couch watching a news report on his laptop.

Sometime later…

At the supermarket Rita only had one more item to purchase on her shopping list. As she turned the cart into aisle seven to pick up packets of spaghetti, Teresa Hart was moving away after getting some penne pasta and noticed Rita.

"Good afternoon Rita," Mrs. Hart said casually. Teresa was wearing jeans and a short-sleeved pink blouse.

"Mom go home," two year old Lily babbled.

"We're going home soon honey," Rita replied then smiled at Lily.

"Good afternoon Teresa," Rita continued.

"How are the children Rita, I hope they're doing well," Mrs. Hart commented.

Rita smiled a little, then replied, "Yes they are, thanks for asking."

"I hope they're behaving themselves, I haven't heard them making noise for weeks," Teresa commented wryly.

"Well Lori, Luna, Luan, Lisa, Lola, and Junior are being punished until they return to school, and Lynn and I'm keeping them busy with lots of chores, Lana has learned her lesson so we took her off punishment, "I'm so sorry she scared your daughter," Rita answered.

Still peeved about the incident with Hops scaring her daughter Susanna, Teresa just ignored Rita's apology.

"That's good, kids do need discipline, why don't you and Lynn Sr. consider sending your girls to boot camp? They need the discipline they aren't getting from home," she asked with a judgmental tone which suddenly aggravated Rita.

"Excuse me, how dare you judge my parenting? You think you're such a perfect mom because you don't allow your kids to drink soda," Rita said angrily.

"Well if you and your husband are okay with them acting like hooligans instead of proper ladies," Teresa commented arrogantly.

"Don't call my girls hooligans, you don't have to deal with ten strong-willed girls with five of them being hyperactive, Lynn and I try our best to discipline them and nothing works," Rita protested.

"Trying's not good enough, they might wind up behind bars soon if you don't curb their wild behavior and…

Suddenly they heard a woman saying in a stern tone, "Teresa that's enough!"

Rita looked around and noticed Mrs. Stewart walking towards them.

"Can't you see you're upsetting Rita?" she told Teresa when she stopped beside Rita. "I was only giving Rita some advice," Mrs. Hart said somewhat annoyed, then two seconds passed.

"Rita, you might love your daughters but most people don't like aggressive girls so do something about it," she added before leaving with her cart.

"Thank you Robyn, I was one step away from calling the store manager," Rita said once Teresa had disappeared around a corner.

"Don't worry about Teresa, remember when she pushed to get all soda machines removed from the Royal Woods schools?" Robyn said.

Rita nodded," I remember going to that meeting at the high school."

A few seconds passed then Robyn said, "Rita I know you and Lynn Sr. care a lot about your children's well-being."

"We do. The girls are very talented but have difficult personalities, then Luan, Lynn and Lana have attention deficit disorder and Lola and Lisa to an extent. My husband and I allow them to express themselves anyway they want and I realize now they take advantage of it," Rita admitted.

There was a short pause before Robyn replied," I understand. Look if you need someone to talk to you can call me. My numbers in the Associations Directory."

Every January the Franklin Avenue Association mails a new Directory with all the residents' names and phone numbers.

"I will do that," Rita replied, then Robyn said, "Well it was nice speaking with you."

"Thanks for understanding Robyn," Rita responded. Once Mrs. Stewart departed Rita picked up seven boxes of spaghetti then she joined the shortest line to pay for the groceries.

Meanwhile Lynn was finished cleaning the gutters after mowing the lawn for Ruth. Luckily, the lawn wasn't large so that job took twenty minutes. Aunt Ruth appeared while Lynn washed her hands in the bathroom. Aunt Ruth had noticed the teenager's slight bruises seconds after her arrival and just thought, "She probably got them from playing sports or fighting with her sisters."

Sometimes when Rita spoke to her Aunt she would tell her about some of the fights among her children.

"Lynn lunch is ready," Ruth told her then walked away.

The teenager groaned inwardly. "Now I have to eat expired food," she thought.

To Lynn's surprise, Aunt Ruth placed a smoked turkey sandwich and some lemonade before her at the table.

"Junior I decided to take your dads advice about not serving expired food and threw them out and bought fresh food at the supermarket," Ruth explained.

Some time ago, Lincoln, Lynn Sr. and four sisters stayed with Aunt Ruth because the house became uninhabitable due to termites. Ruth was about to serve the older food she normally gave the Loud children whenever they visited but Lynn Sr. told her not to serve his children any then took Lori with him to the supermarket to buy fresh food. (Referencing the episode Ruthless People)

"What's next," Lynn asked Aunt Ruth rather listlessly once she drank the last drop of lemonade.

"You can start cleaning the litterboxes dear," Aunt Ruth replied.

Lynn thought dismally, "Oh just great."

Upon arriving home Rita took Lily out of the baby seat then walked towards the house where she noticed Lana helping Lynn Sr. pulling weeds from the garden.

"Lana could you help carry in groceries," she asked and the girl obeyed by running towards Vanzilla.

Rita opened the front door then shouted, "I'm back, I need some assistance carrying in the groceries."

Lola, Lucy, Lisa and Lincoln appeared quickly and calmly walked outside to assist their mother.

Once Rita left that morning Albert and Lynn Sr. retrieved Leni's sewing machine and materials from the attic and returned them to her bedroom. Leni was still sewing a dress which she started after they placed the items back on her side of the room. The five children also helped Rita put away the groceries after unloading Vanzilla.

Later…

Lori and Luna were at the restaurant with their father. At breakfast Luna asked her father if she could wash dishes at the restaurant so she didn't have to stay home and just read. Lori offered to give her fifteen from the thirty dollars Lynn Sr. paid her. At the moment Lincoln was at Rusty's house with his friends enjoying their video games in the living room. Right now Lola was fast asleep on Leni's bed while Lana and Lisa were sleeping in their bedrooms and Luan was working on her act for the birthday party. Rita was working on her novel in the master bedroom while Pop-Pop was making chicken soup for dinner. Leni was at the mall with two school friends to see a movie.

Lynn Jr. was resting on Aunt Ruth's couch after working hard. After cleaning the litter boxes she assisted Ruth in cleaning out the refrigerator. Lynn started thinking about how she regarded Lincoln. She firmly believed that boys should be roughhousing and interested in sports whether they were athletic or not. One time she considered making him her sparring partner when practicing any sport and forcing him to participate even when he wasn't interested but she decided against doing that. Instead she preferred surprising him once in a while with throwing a ball towards him and shouting, "Think fast," for him to catch the ball and catching him off guard with Luche Libre wrestling holds which only happened three times.

The ball throwing was just her playing around while the wrestling was deliberate roughhousing to interact with him. Her other actions towards Lincoln were plain bullying just because she was older and stronger than him such as the Dutch ovens, pantsing him three times and belching in his face. Two weeks before summer break, she maliciously threw a basketball toward her brother when he peeped into her bedroom to say hello while she conversed with their four older sisters which hit Lincoln forcefully in his chest and knocked him to the floor (the last incident from the episode "Sitting Bull")

Fortunately she never started bullying him when he was younger, she only started doing it when she was twelve and was almost finished her first year of middle school and Lincoln ten. The family was travelling to the Scratchy Bottom camp grounds for spring break when she decided to play Auto Attack.

When Lincoln asked her, "How do you play that?" she replied, "I punch you every time I see a car," then a trailer carrying about ten cars passed by and she punched him painfully ten times.

She was interrupted from her thoughts when Aunt Ruth entered the living room.

"Junior I'm taking you home," Ruth told her.

"Finally," the girl thought in relief. She gratefully hopped in the passenger seat of Ruth's car and within minutes she was home.

"Thanks Junior you were a great help," Ruth remarked while Lynn unbuckled the seat belt.

"Bye Aunt Ruth," she responded wearily before stepping out of the car.

 **A/N. I always wondered how another person would regard the way Rita and Lynn Sr. parent their children so I created the encounter with Rita and Teresa.**


	20. Lynn Jr returns home

An exhausted girl walked up the steps of the porch where her Goth sister Lucy was writing in a dark purple notebook. "Hey Luce," Lynn Jr. said tiredly. Lucy raised her head to acknowledge her sister.

"Hello Lynn, Pop-Pops making chicken soup for dinner," Lucy replied before returning to her writing.

Suddenly Lynn noticed the notebooks color.

"She usually only buys black ones," she thought before walking through the open front door.

It was completely silent in the living room with nobody there. She entered the kitchen to greet Pop-Pop.

"Hey Junior," Albert greeted solemnly. He was finished preparing the soup and taking a rest at the small table while the soup cooked.

"Afternoon Pop-Pop," she replied.

"I hope Ruth appreciated your help," Albert added. The girl nodded then headed upstairs where she threw her exhausted body on her mattress.

She dozed off but awoke twenty minutes later and heard Rita calling the children from downstairs, "Kids dinners ready."

While everyone at home was eating the soup, Lincoln was getting out of a red car. Zach's mom was driving with him and Zach sitting in the back.

"Thanks for the ride Mrs. Harper," Lincoln said cheerily.

"No problem Lincoln," the red haired lady commented before Lincoln departed.

Lincoln opened the front door with his house key and heard Rita's voice from the dining table saying, "Since Pop-Pop's staying until Monday evening you're all attending the community center day camp on Tuesday."

Lincoln could see the back of Lynn's ponytail as he approached the room.

"Oh she's back," he thought derisively.

"Hello everyone," he greeted, "What's for dinner?"

"Oh you're back sweetie," Rita replied.

"Pop-Pop made chicken soup," Luan responded.

"Wash your hands kiddo and join us," Albert added enthusiastically.

Lincoln washed his hands in the bathroom then returned to the kitchen to retrieve a bowl from a cupboard. He ladled two spoonfuls of soup which was still warm into the bowl and joined the others sitting on Albert's left side.

"Thanks Pop-Pop for making dinner," the twins and Lisa chanted after everyone finished eating.

"It tasted delicious," Lincoln added.

"Thanks kiddos," he replied and smiled at them.

"Luan and Luna please clear the table and wash the dishes?" Rita asked then glanced at the younger girls and thought, "They have been cooped up in the house all day. They need some fresh air."

"Lucy, Lana, Lola and Lisa, we're going to the park," she announced. The twins perked up.

Lynn Jr, still exhausted decided to change into her sleeping clothes and go to bed. Lincoln decided to read a book of scientific wonders Rusty bought him for a birthday gift in his bedroom.

Rita removed Lily from her high chair and proceeded to leave with the other younger girls. Reaching the park, Rita told them, "You can run around for a while but stay where I can see you."

As she watched Lana and Lola enjoying themselves on the swings while Lucy and Lisa just walked around suddenly Rita recalled Teresa's statement," _"Rita, you might love your daughters but most people don't like aggressive girls so do something about it."_

Then reality hit her like a ton of bricks. "She's right the girls cannot go on being this aggressive with almost everyone."

"Fifteen minutes later she was calling them, "Girls, we're going home."

Upon returning home, Lucy returned to writing in the purple book. Lisa and Lola began reading while Lana looked at her returned cell phone. Rita decided to read a story to Lily while Albert sat on the porch listening to an oldies station on his radio.

That evening Leni was dropped back home by her friend Jackie at 7:45 pm and went to bed instantly. Lynn Sr, Lori and Luna returned at 9:20 pm. Everyone was fast asleep since the television and DVD remained inactive since Rita unplugged the cords and hid them in the suitcase she bought on vacation.

"What a night," Lori whispered. She was whispering to avoid waking up Lincoln who was sleeping on the couch.

"Yeah sis, my hands are dry from washing so many dishes," Luna whispered.

"Good night girls," Lynn Sr. told them.

Before falling asleep, Rita decided to mention the unpleasant encounter with Teresa Hart with her husband the next morning after breakfast. Not wanting to wake her, Lynn Sr. crept into the master bedroom, slipped out of his clothes and changed into his pajamas before getting into bed.

Sunday morning…

Rita and Lynn Sr. were awakened at 9:30 by their alarm clock and were out of bed in fifteen seconds. Rita headed upstairs while her husband heading downstairs. Lincoln was awake since nine a.m and began reading a comic book immediately.

"Good morning Linc," Lynn Sr. said a little wearily

"Morning dad," the boy replied, "I think I'll help with breakfast, "he thought.

"Dad I'm helping you with breakfast," he said earning a small smile from his father. He washed his hands in the kitchen sink then Lynn Sr.

From the refrigerator both Lincoln removed some eggs to begin scrambling them while Lynn Sr. got sliced ham. Soon breakfast was prepared and the father was calling from the bottom of the stairs, "Everyone breakfast's ready."

The girls ascended the stairs quietly which they had been doing since the extreme punishment was handed out.

While everyone enjoyed the breakfast with hot cocoa made by Lincoln Albert asked Rita and his son-in-law, "Rita, Lynn Senior could we find some time to talk about those important matters?"

Lynn Sr. became a little apprehensive.

"How about after dinner?" he said, then Rita had a bright idea.

"We could go to the restaurant since it will be closed," she suggested.

"All right then," Albert replied. The grandfather had only been at the restaurant once and that was on opening night.

"And I'll buy dinner at Aloha Comrade after I drop Luan off," Lynn Sr. announced.

"Lori you're in charge when were gone," Rita told her.

"They're probably going to discuss Lynn threatening me with the baseball bat," Lincoln wondered.

Soon breakfast was eaten and Rita asked," Girls you can clear the table after our morning exercises, everyone get ready except you Luan."

Since Luan was performing at the birthday party at three pm Rita decided not to exert Luan before leaving at two p.m.

"Honey could I speak with you?" Rita asked her husband in a low voice. He nodded and followed his wife outside until she stopped at the garage door. She turned around and began speaking.

"I don't want the kids hearing this conversation. Yesterday I met that Mrs. Hart at the supermarket. At first she was friendly by asking me how the kids were but when I answered they were doing fine she began judging our parenting by saying we should consider sending the girls to boot camp because they need the discipline they aren't getting from home," she spoke with an annoyed tone.

Her husband managed to squeak. "What?" then paused for two seconds.

"When I told her how don't judge our parenting she implied that we were okay with them acting like hooligans, I got upset and said don't call them hooligans because she doesn't have to deal with ten strong-willed girls," Rita continued.

"What else?" her husband asked but wasn't upset.

"She said they might wind up behind bars if we don't control their wild behavior, then thank goodness Robyn interrupted her. Robyn told her to stop upsetting me. Before leaving Teresa said most people don't like aggressive girls and that we should fix the problem," Rita continued. "Anyway Robyn and I exchanged a few words before leaving."

Lynn Sr. sighed then remarked, "I'm really sorry you had to endure that honey."

A moment passed before Rita said, "We should start our exercises."

Seven minutes later everybody except Albert and Luan were in the back yard carrying water bottles.

"Let's take a power walk around the house," Rita announced.

After two rounds Rita said, "Let's drink some water."

"Now let's do some jumping jacks," Lynn Sr. said afterwards.

When everyone completed twenty five of those, he said, "That's enough kids go inside and freshen up." Inside Luan and Albert had cleared the table and were washing the dishes.

Lincoln rushed into his room after drinking more water. While changing out of his sweaty clothes he decided to start working on constructing a model ship he received from Liam as a birthday gift. Forty minutes later he had to use the bathroom then returned to his room. Albert was at Ketcham Park. An hour later Lincoln's eyes became weary and decided to take a break.

2 pm

Lincoln please help me load Luan's things," Lynn Sr. asked as the boy finished eating a ham sandwich.

Once the van was loaded Lincoln told Luan," Good luck sis," before their father drove off with her. Upon dropping off Luan Lynn Sr. headed to Aloha Comrade.

Back home Lincoln and Lori helped their father carry in the food. Lynn Sr would warm the food close to dinnertime which was four thirty every Sunday.

Later...

Albert was playing checkers with Lori while the other kids were just sitting around the living room when Rita announced, "Dinners ready."

"I'll always enjoy this food," Lori said with satisfaction when everyone's stomachs were filled.

"Dad I think we should leave now. Lori, Leni and Luna could you clear the table," Rita spoke. Lynn Srs. apprehensiveness appeared again.

Minutes later Vanzilla was turning into the parking spot at Lynn's Table reserved for Lynn Sr.

 **Stay tuned for the conversation between the Loud parents and Albert.**


	21. Revelations

**To JMBuilder, this chapter will explain how Rita knew the sisters had acted up in the supermarket, that's why I deleted your review.**

Albert glanced around the dining room area of his son-in-laws restaurant while marveling the décor Lynn Sr, Rita and his grandchildren spent a few afterschool hours and Saturday and Sunday afternoons working on.

'Well let's begin," Lynn Sr. said without showing any apprehension this time

The trio sat in the nearest booth near the podium Grant stood at to greet the customers with Rita and Lynn Sr. sitting on the same side.

Albert began speaking.

"Let's begin by talking about the problem of Lincoln getting bullied by the girls and I don't want to hear he should endure it because he's a boy, he's entitled to live in harmony with them, not to have Junior belching in his face and threatened with bodily harm. I know it's common for siblings to do that but it should not be considered normal."

A few seconds passed before Albert continued, 'Have you actually seen them bullying him?"

"Remember when I got community service for those traffic violations. After I came home after the first day, I saw Lori and Leni fighting over some object then Junior was wearing a wrestler's mask and pinning Lincoln on the carpet and I saw him struggling to get up. I just left the house because I couldn't deal with them because I was exhausted," Rita replied.

"Once the kids convinced me somehow to replace Vanzilla because one time they had to push Vanzilla when Rita was driving them home from school one day because she broke down, Vanzilla that is," Lynn Sr. explained. "I woke up one morning and saw everyone except Lana and Lola entering our room. When I told them I was buying a new van they were happy but then Lana and Lola came inside holding a cardboard van they made, it was some presentation they were going to make to convince me to buy a van but when Lincoln told them they didn't have to because I was going to buy one Lola shouted that she and Lana spent four hours on the presentation then screamed at him, "Sit down" Lincoln got a scared look on his face and shrank back in fear," Lynn Sr. admitted.

Albert frowned then asked, "And you didn't admonish Lola for it and tell her to apologize to Lincoln?"

"W-w-welll I'm actually afraid of Lola" Lynn Sr admitted.

Albert then exhaled sharply, then said in disbelief, "Lynn she's six years old and you're afraid of her. Are you kidding me?"

"But dad the girls have violent tempers. You know they have inherited the trait and other aggressive behavior from women on both sides of the family," Lynn Sr. said.

"But you cannot use that as an excuse to allow them to behave anyway they want," Albert replied, "Me and Ruth had to endure Sylvia's temper tantrums and bullying but my folks thought girls couldn't be bullies so they ignored it."

Then Albert thought, "We're going off topic," then said, "Tell me other times you've seen him getting bullied."

"Two days after the supermarket incident I felt guilty about blaming him and not giving him a chance to explain. I thought it must be the girls fault probably since they tend to misbehave in public places. I called the store manager on my lunch break and asked if I could drop by after work to look at their camera footage for that day and he agreed. I was shocked to see Junior racing a cart through the store, Luan juggling eggs while standing on a shelf in the diary aisle, Lisa was laying on frozen peas, Leni was releasing lobsters by tying them to balloons, the twins were spraying each other with hoses while Lucy was making a sculpture with some cakes. Lincoln saw each incident and was begging them to stop misbehaving. Then he started chasing after another boy who grabbed the cereal before him. Lincoln was able to get it after the other boy was kicked out of the store for making a mess while trying to stop Lincoln from catching him. He told the girls something in the checkout line before he was able to pay for the groceries. Suddenly the twins, Lisa and Lucy began arguing then Luna snatched the box out of his hands and was holding it above her head while he struggled to take it from her. They started fighting and knocked over a stack of toilet paper in the process, then the store manager appeared and demanded they leave immediately. The thing is I didn't punish the girls because Lori told me they felt guilty about preventing him from getting the cereal and bought it for him," Rita explained.

"Did they explain why they did it?" Albert asked.

"Lola told me it wasn't fair for Lincoln to get a treat while they couldn't get one," Rita responded.

"I want to talk about Junior's behavior. Did you see when she threatened him with her bat?" Albert asked.

"No, but when Junior's team lost she accused him of being bad luck since Lincoln hadn't attended her games for a while. After we discovered he was pretending to be bad luck we decided to play along and told him he wasn't allowed to come to a movie with us and the girls. That night he dreamt we boarded up his room and left a note on the door saying we couldn't risk him sleeping in his room because of his bad luck and forced him to sleep outside but we wouldn't let him back in the house the next morning so he decided to wear a mascot at Juniors next game to prove he wasn't unlucky and her team won. He woke up when he dreamt we forced him to wear the mascot on a trip to the beach," Rita explained, "When he told us about the dream next morning Junior told us when everyone else had left the house about threatening him with the bat. She begged us not to tell the others because they might tear her to shreds if they found out."

"I see, did you punish her?" Albert asked.

"We told her if she had to clean the bathroom for two weeks and if she did anything like that again she wouldn't be allowed to play sports for a month, and told her to apologize to him. Lincoln was in his room so we went there and she apologized," Lynn Sr. explained

"Let's move on to the girls in general, you've been allowing them to run roughshod over the house and in public places which is unacceptable. Is there any other misbehavior I wasn't told about?' Albert asked.

"Well Lola races her toy car inside the house and even though we don't approve Junior plays sports inside sometimes and we never tell her to go outside," Rita said.

Lynn Sr. chuckled, then remarked, "Then there's Luan's little pranks that she plays on almost everybody."

"One time Lisa created a document called the Sister Fight Protocol since there's so much fighting and disputes amongst the girls almost every week. One day Lori and Leni accidentally bought the same dress which caused a huge argument so Lisa decided to bring the protocol into action. One of the conditions was that during an argument between two or more sisters, they could cool off in the nearest room as long as they wished to avoid each other and that we couldn't intervene or take sides and we agreed to the arrangement,' Rita continued.

"Let's see if I heard you correctly, you allowed the girls to draft some silly protocol on how to handle fights between themselves which included hiding in any room of the house to cool off, preventing other people from using that room even when they had an emergency?"

"Yes dad, we think it's a good idea for the kids to solve their own problems so we allowed it," Lynn Sr. clarified.

"We just thought if someone couldn't get into the kitchen if they were hungry and someone was cooling off in there, they could just buy food somewhere after all we give them allowances," Rita explained.

Lynn Sr. said, "And when Leni was cooling off in the bathroom we just got a bucket to use for a toilet."

Albert actually slapped his forehead in disbelief.

"I can't believe what I'm hearing, who pays the mortgage, the bills and buys the equipment they need for their hobbies and extracurriculars?" he asked.

Rita was about to say Lisa paid the bills but decided not to. She didn't want her father getting angry about giving the genius that responsibility.

"We do," Rita replied softly.

"Then why are the two of you allowing the girls to rule your house!" Albert shouted then slammed his right palm on the table.

"Albert if it makes you feel any better, we told them they could come to us anytime with a problem," Lynn remarked.

"At least that's a start," the elderly man replied once he calmed down.

A few seconds passed before Albert spoke again.

"I am just disappointed by the fact both of you have thrown away your responsibities as parents," Albert told them.

Rita then sighed then replied, "I know the girl's aggressive natures shouldn't be an excuse to let them misbehave. We don't even tell Junior she should say excuse me when she passes gas at the table during dinner. Lincoln is the easiest child to raise even though he does rebel sometimes."

Lynn Sr. cellphone suddenly rang.

"Hey dad you need to pick me up, I've been waiting for five minutes," he heard Luan say. She was given Rita's phone to use by Rita.

"That's Luan we should go and pick her up," Lynn Sr. said after hanging up.


	22. Speaking with the girls

Albert was sitting behind the driver seat as Lynn Sr. headed to the mall. The party was at the same venue of Zach's birthday party. Albert began mulling over his son in law revealing that he was afraid of Lola.

"This man has given away his masculinity, it's just unbelievable. I wish Marie was still here to help discipline them," Albert thought bitterly.

When Rita was studying Dental Assisting at Royal Woods Community College, Albert and his wife who died when Lynn Jr. was five months old, would spend alternate evenings taking care of the five older girls while Rita did her homework. Lynn Sr. bought takeout food almost every weekday because of working late at his IT job.

Once when Lori was five she punched Leni because the second born spilled apple juice by accident on the dress of one of Lori's dolls. Albert remembered his wife scolding Lori, "How could you hit your sister," then swatted her three times on her behind with an open palm, then told the sobbing Lori, "Please apologize to Leni." After Lori obeyed Marie then wiped the apple juice from the dolls dress.

"I will talk to the girls on Monday evening then have another talk with Lincoln about the bullying," Albert mused.

"Lynn how much longer is Lincoln working at the restaurant," he decided to ask.

"Until Thursday this week," Lynn Sr. responded.

Meanwhile back home, the girls except Leni were downstairs. Lori had instructed Luna and Lynn Jr. to wash the dishes after the adults left while she supervised the others in the living room. Leni was still working on the dress she started Saturday. Lucy was curled up on the small couch writing in a black notebook. Lisa and Lola were reading books while Lana was playing a game on her cell phone. Lori had settled Lily down on the carpet with her building blocks. Lincoln resumed assembling the model airplane right after dinner and was still working on it.

Eventually the old van reached the Mall. The men loaded Luan's equipment into the back of Vanzilla while Luan, still wearing a mime outfit climbed into the seat behind Rita.

"How was the performance honey," Rita asked smiling.

"It was superb mom," Luan responded smiling back.

"Mom, take this cake and give it to Pop-Pop," Luan said referring to a slice of vanilla cake she received at the party.

"That's very considerate of you dear," Rita replied beaming before taking the cake.

Minutes later Albert and Lynn Sr. were unloading Luan's things in the Loud's driveway while Rita and Luan headed inside.

"Hi Lori is everything all right," Rita asked her eldest who was on the couch reading to Lily. After finishing in the kitchen, Luna and Lynn Jr. picked up books and joined Lana and Lisa.

"Yes mom," Lori replied.

Rita placed the cake in the refrigerator. Albert went immediately to Lincoln's bedroom after he and Lynn Sr. placed Luan's equipment inside her room.

He knocked softly on the door. Lincoln rose from his bed where he was taking a breather after working on the plane for a while and answered, "Come in."

Albert gave a loud whistle upon seeing his grandson's progress with the plane.

"Your plane's coming along nicely," he admitted.

"Thanks Pop-Pop," Lincoln remarked then beamed.

"Look kiddo I want to know what your plans are this Friday?" Albert asked.

"Well I might hang with my friends at the arcade," he responded.

"How about we spend some time together?" Albert asked.

Lincoln smiled wider this time then replied, "I'd love to Pop-Pop, how about some go-cart racing, then lunch at the mall."

"Allright kiddo I'll come here at eleven a.m," Albert said before leaving.

Lincoln resumed working on the plane. Lucy went outside on the porch to continue writing so Albert sat in the small armchair and turned on his radio that was on a side table.

Lori headed upstairs to find an outfit for work then take a shower before anyone else. Lisa, Luna, the twins and Lynn Jr. headed to their rooms. Rita to work on her novel and Lynn Sr. was reading one in their bedroom.

The kids were fast asleep by 8:30 pm. Albert found Lincoln sleeping on his bed but didn't want to wake him so he asked his daughter if he could sleep on the couch and Rita agreed.

"Rita I've decided to leave Tuesday morning so I can discuss with the girls the issues we talked about," he added.

"Fine with me dad," Rita replied before saying, "Good night dad."

On Monday morning the parents, Lincoln and Lori departed while the others remained in bed. Leni asked her boss Mrs. Carmichael for the day off last Thursday. "What do you all want to do today," Albert asked the girls after they ate breakfast. They had Rice Krispies and hot cocoa prepared while Albert fixed oatmeal and a cup of coffee for himself. Everyone was already dressed.

"Mom used to take me Lola, Lisa and Lucy to the library before we got punished," Lana said.

"We'll go in a few minutes, but Luna, Junior and Luan you have to come with us and Leni you stay here and take care of Lily," Albert told her.

"I'll be right back he added," before going upstairs.

He phoned the transport office at the center on his phone. "Good Morning Louisa, it's me Albert look I've decided to return tomorrow morning. I'll take a cab so tell Carl he doesn't have to come," Albert said.

"I'll tell him thanks for telephoning," Louisa replied.

Once the call was completed Albert and the girls headed for the bus stop.

At the library, the older girls spent time on the computers while the other girls attended the story hour. The girls partook of the free lunch provided. Albert spent the whole time watching old TV shows on a computer with headphones provided.

It was three o'clock when they arrived home. Lincoln was in his bedroom resting while Lily was napping and Leni was sewing another dress. The girls headed to their rooms to take a nap after drinking water since they arrived hot and thirsty from travelling on the bus. Albert began looking for something to cook for dinner.

Later….

"Another excellent dinner dad," Rita told her father. Albert made mashed potatoes and baked tilapia with green peas. Lynn Sr. was still at the restaurant.

"Thanks Pop-Pop," the younger girls chanted together.

Albert smiled then announced, "Kids I've decided to stay until tomorrow morning."

"Hooray!" the younger ones cheered and the others just beamed with happiness.

Then his tone changed to a serious one, "Girls I want to talk with you. Lincoln could you go upstairs to your room."

Lincoln without a word quickly left the dining room while Rita headed for the master bedroom. Albert waited for three minutes before clearing his throat.

"I'd like to discuss what your folks and I talked about yesterday. They revealed quite a lot about your behavior including bullying your brother and I'm not pleased," Albert began then looked at the girls sternly.

"First your dad told me about the time you girls and Lincoln persuaded him to replace the van. Lana and Lola, when you wanted to do your presentation and Lincoln said your dad already decided to buy another van, Lola you shouted you and Lana spent four hours on the presentation then screamed at him to sit down. Lincoln got scared of you and shrank in fear. Do you remember?" then looked at Lola sternly.

Lola finally answered a little timidly, "Yes."

Albert continued, "Then your mother told me about your appalling behavior that day at the supermarket causing the management to ban your family for a while. Junior the supermarket isn't a race track, you could have ran over an elderly person or a small child and Luan some people buy those eggs to feed their kids. Leni and Lucy the management spends lots of dollars purchasing the lobsters and making those cakes. Lisa what is your reason for laying on the frozen peas?"

"You see, I was doing research because I intended to make a cryogenic freezer," Lisa explained.

Albert raised an eyebrow, "Your mom said Lincoln was getting frantic and told all of you to stop misbehaving."

"He did Pop-Pop," Leni replied.

Then Albert glanced at Luna with a withering look making the teen uncomfortable.

"And after Lincoln finally got his cereal back from another kid who grabbed it just when he was about to take it, when he told you in the checkout line about arranging with your mom to buy the cereal, you Luna grabbed it from him and held it above your head and taunting him with it like a typical schoolyard bully, I can't believe you could treat your brother like that," Albert said harshly.

"Believe me Pop-Pop, I actually felt guilty for two days afterwards," Luna said sadly.

"But Lori arranged for Bobby to buy a box since he worked there and the next morning we gave Lincoln the cereal," Leni admitted.

Albert nodded then replied, "Your mom told me that," before continuing.

"Now Junior since you're the main one picking on Lincoln, why are you so rough with him? Your mom talked about coming home from community service and saw you pinning him to the floor in a wrestling hold."

"Sometimes I surprise him with a Luche Libre because it's the only way to play a sport with him, no big deal," Lynn said.

"I'm also not happy about your appalling manners toward him, belching in his face and making him smell your farts by putting a sheet over his face," he said next.

"But sometimes I pick on the others too," Lynn Jr. answered

"Yes Pop-Pop, she gives us apology punches instead of saying sorry when she spoils our fun," Lola piped up.

"Now about the Sister Fight Protocol," Albert continued causing the girls to get more nervous.

Well Lisa created the protocol and we all agreed it was a perfect idea… Luna began.


	23. Speaking with Lincoln

Luna hesitated for a moment then before continuing, "Until Lori and Leni bought the same dress by accident."

"And we had a huge argument about it. I told Leni she should return hers then she got angry and demanded I should take mine back. After we argued for a while Lisa approached us with the protocol and said it was going into effect immediately," Lori explained.

"Was Lincoln notified of the protocol because your mom didn't mention his name," Albert continued.

The girls gave each other nervous glances then Lisa decided to explain.

"Well grandfather since the protocol involves just us as sisters we agreed it wasn't necessary to tell him."

"We didn't want him butting in and solving our problems since he does it every time we have arguments," Lori added.

"That doesn't matter Lincoln had the right to know about the protocol," Albert said.

"Your parents also mentioned the conditions listed in the protocol. How can you stop other people from using the bathroom? Is there any other thing about the protocol your folks didn't tell me?"

Lynn Jr. pondered for a moment, unsure whether or not to tell her grandfather.

Albert raised his right eyebrow before saying impatiently, "Well."

"Whenever a sister was cooling off no one was allowed to make noise even the TV was off limits," Lynn Jr. clarified.

"Lincoln wanted to watch some monster truck rally on TV but…"Lucy began rethinking her decision to speak.

Albert realized she was hesitant to speak further but wanted her to continue.

"Did you do something to your brother?" Albert questioned Lucy.

"Lynn, Lola and I were sitting on the sofa and he approached us so we beat him up so he couldn't watch TV," Lucy admitted nervously.

Albert shook his head in disbelief then became angry upon hearing Lincoln was attacked because he wanted to watch the monster truck rally.

"How dare you attack him for wanting to watch TV? What else did you do to inconvenience him?" he asked angrily.

"Well Lori and Leni were about to cross paths so Luna and I grabbed Lori and barged into his room. I told Lincoln to scram and I shoved him out the door because he didn't move fast enough," Luan admitted timidly.

"I can't believe you girls. Why not cool off on the back porch or the attic or basement instead?" Albert said almost shouting, his face redder than before.

"Do you hate Lincoln? What has he done besides helping you with your problems and attending your events out of the goodness of his heart?" Albert asked.

"Pop-Pop, we don't hate him but Lincoln has manipulated all of us in certain situations to achieve something he either doesn't want us to have any," Luna said.

"We're not talking about anything negative he's done we're talking about the bullying him," Albert spoke.

"But we haven't been doing it for years," Lori said.

"You're the oldest you shouldn't bully him period and you should have stepped in whenever you see your other sisters doing it," Albert scolded her.

"You don't understand there is jealously shown whenever anyone of us get special attention for example the supermarket incident. We were jealous of Lincoln getting the treat because we thought mom was favoring him over us," Lori added.

"Your behavior in general is unacceptable, stop bullying Lincoln okay," Albert said sternly to the girls.

"Yes Pop-Pop," they answered in unison.

"I'm going to relax before bedtime," Albert concluded before going upstairs to change into his pajamas before doing more reading downstairs.

The girls began clearing their plates and glasses with Luna stacking Lincoln's plate on hers. Suddenly Lynn Sr. arrived home. He had already eaten supper at the restaurant and before leaving he instructed Kentauro to close up. Lincoln was reading a comic when Albert entered his room

"Just going to change kiddo," Albert said then grabbed his pajamas and changed in the bathroom.

Later after drinking a glass of warm milk and enjoying the cake Luan bought home, Albert went straight to his daughter's bedroom and knocked. The girls were all trying to sleep.

"Are you both busy right now?" he called out.

"Come in dad," Rita replied.

Albert noticed her sitting at the dressing table working on her novel. She had cleared a space to use as a desk while Lynn Sr. lazed on the bed reading a novel.

"Well the girls revealed some things you didn't tell me," Albert began as he sat on the edge of the bed.

"When Lori and Leni had that ridiculous dispute over the dresses, did you know about Lola, Lucy and Junior beating up Lincoln because he wanted to watch TV while Lori cooled off?"

The parents displayed stunned looks on their faces then Rita squeaked, "What!"

"And about Luan and Luna barging into his room with Lori and kicking him out because they didn't want her to cross paths with Leni?" Albert continued.

Rita inhaled softly then uttered, "Oh my God, I didn't know," while her husband stayed silent.

"These are acts of spitefulness towards Lincoln and it's unacceptable, he has to be affected in some way by all this bullying," Albert said raising his voice, "These girls need serious discipline."

"Dad we're working on some changes but it's going to take time," Rita explained.

"Rest assured Albert things are going to be more orderly in this house," Lynn Sr. added empathically.

"I hope so, I'm sleeping on the couch, goodnight Rita and Lynn," Albert concluded.

What they didn't know was that Lincoln entered the bathroom and heard the last six sentences Albert said through the vent.

The next morning, Albert awoke the same time as everybody and had breakfast with the family. Lori had called Whitney and told her she's coming in a little later. Leni decided to go in earlier. Rita cooked enough oatmeal for everyone at the table.

"Kids when you've finished eating meet Pop-Pop downstairs after you get ready," Rita told the kids while they ate.

The children finished their oatmeal soon then brushed their teeth and grabbed their bags, Lincoln always carried comics to read on his breaks. They gathered in the living room to bid Albert goodbye.

"Well kids I won't be here when you come home, so stay on your best behavior," the grandfather asked.

"We will," the girls chorused.

"Rita, make sure you and Lynn Senior keep things in order," Albert said.

"We will," Rita told her father.

Suddenly his grandkids surrounded him and gave him a group hug.

"We love you Pop-Pop," they chanted. After they released Albert, Rita looked at her watch and remarked, "We have to get going."

He accompanied the family outside and waved goodbye when the children turned around and shouted, "Bye Pop-Pop."

Back inside Albert packed his few items into his overnight bag before watching some news reports on his laptop for an hour.

After logging off he thought, "It's time to call a cab." Within ten minutes the cab arrived and Albert used the spare key Rita gave him and locked the door.

Today was Rita's day to keep Vanzilla so after picking up the girls who attended the day camp she bought some burgers and fries at the drive thru lane at Burping Burgers for dinner. The next few days went smoothly. The girls were actually enjoying being at the community center.

On Friday morning Lincoln finally awoke at 9:45 am and took a quick shower then got dressed. After eating Zombie bran for breakfast Lincoln washed his bowl and spoon then fed Lana's pets. After washing his hands, Lincoln placed an extra ten dollars in his wallet and waited on the couch for his grandfather to arrive.

Finally the shuttle made its arrival at the two story house at exactly 11:00 am. Lincoln rushed towards the door upon hearing Albert ring the doorbell.

Albert shared a brief hug with his grandson before asking, "Good morning kiddo."

"Morning Pop-Pop," Lincoln said happily, then Albert's tone turned serious.

"Before we leave I'd like to have a talk about the conversation your folks and I had," he spoke.

Once they sat on the couch Albert began, "Your father mentioned Lola screamed at you to sit down when you told her she and Lana didn't have to do their presentation when your father decided to buy a new van and you shrinking in fear."

"Oh that," Lincoln replied nonchalantly, "You don't understand, Lola has like a demon look in her eyes when she loses her temper. Even dad is afraid of Lola."

"Your mom mentioned the incident at the supermarket. She told me about seeing the camera footage of what happened and described all the antics your sisters did. Then she told me about what Luna did after you finally got the cereal. I also know how they treated you when Lisa used the sister fight protocol when Lori and Leni argued over the same dress. How do you handle all this bullying?"

Lincoln sighed "Well it only happens like twice a month. Sometimes a month goes by and they don't bully me. I can handle it even when they get physical. It's actually embarrassing that my younger sisters are stronger than me. At least they physically hurt each other a lot so I'm not the only one getting hurt."

"For instance Leni is absolutely afraid of spiders but Luan chases Leni with a rubber spider sometimes and poor Leni screams and runs away. Lana and Lola used to fight over almost everything and most of their arguments were physical, but they're fighting less now," he continued.

"Kiddo your sisters are not treating you fairly and I'm going to help your parents take control of things around here now let's get to the go-cart track," Albert replied.

They headed to the bus stop after locking the front door.


	24. Lola gets angry

Albert and Lincoln spent an hour and fifteen minutes at the go-cart track before Albert decided he had enough go-carting for the day and suggested to Lincoln they get something to eat. They ordered hot dogs with mustard and relish at Royal Woods mall across the street. Albert decided to chat some more with his grandson.

"So Lincoln, are you looking forward to going to Middle school?" he asked.

The boy answered, "Yes Pop-Pop. I'm thinking of joining a club, by the way is Myrtle better now?"

Albert's girlfriend Myrtle sprained her left wrist while attempting to open a jam bottle two days before he stayed with Rita.

"Yes, her wrist has healed nicely," Albert responded.

A few moments of silence passed between them until Albert asked, "Something on your mind kiddo?" upon noticing Lincoln in deep thoughts.

"It's about my sisters. They never bullied me until I was around ten. Lynn and I used to have foot races from the front door to the letterbox and raced our toy cars and played Freeze tag. She just decided to turn really aggressive once she started Middle School."

Albert responded," Well it's probably all those sports she plays, but it's no excuse for the bullying."

"I guess you're right," was Lincoln's response.

They finished eating but while heading toward the exit Lincoln suddenly realized he forgot something.

"Oh no I forgot to buy two birthday cards, tomorrow is Lana and Lola's birthday," he uttered.

In Horvath's Lincoln picked up a non-gender specific card for Lana and a girly one for Lola.

Back home, Albert hugged Lincoln before saying, "See you soon Kiddo."

"Bye Pop –Pop," the boy replied before unlocking the door and headed inside.

The next morning the twins were awoken by Lynn Sr. The bleary eyed girls focused their eyes on the others standing next to Lana's bed.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY LANA AND LOLA," everyone cried then Rita kissed Lola then Lana on their right cheeks. Everyone had placed their birthday cards on their dresser last night while they slept.

Of course they didn't have a birthday breakfast. Lori and Luna handled the laundry and Rita drove the younger girls to the library to read. That night the twins received dessert as promised.

Sunday afternoon while Lynn Sr. was buying items at the supermarket to prepare for dinner Lincoln glanced at the model plane he spent forty minutes on Wednesday night to complete. He was satisfied with his hard work on the plane. Lincoln was preparing to leave for Gus to join his friends when Lola peeped inside his room.

"Come in," he told her.

"Hi Linky I'm having a pretend tea party since I cannot have a real one. I want you to play my butler," she said sweetly. Almost two years ago Lola blackmailed him into playing her butler at two tea parties she held two days in a row by holding the fact he accidentally smashed a disco ball their father won at a dance contest over his head. Lincoln had no choice but to participate to prevent her from telling Lynn Sr. Those were the only tea parties he attended.

"Sorry Lola I have to meet the gang at Gus," he replied hastily.

"I said I want you at my tea party," she insisted.

"Why can't you ever accept it when someone tells you no," he said exasperatedly. Lola released a sigh, then her mood changed. Suddenly in a rage she declared through gritted teeth, "Nobody tells Lola Loud no," and while Lincoln turned his back to get his wallet on the bed, she instantly picked up the model plane on his dresser and deliberately threw it against the wall, smashing into many pieces before storming off.

Lincoln turned around sharply and stood there in total shock, his mind not registering what Lola did until he came to reality and saw the shattered plane on the floor. He bent down and noticed certain parts were broken in two and couldn't be repaired. Suddenly blind rage overcame him and his face began turning scarlet.

"That little demon's gonna pay, "he snarled, then marched angrily towards the twins bedroom. He flung the door open quickly and saw Lola frowning while sitting on Lana's bed with her back resting on her pillow.

Lola's frown disappeared upon looking up when the door slammed on the wall and was replaced with a fearful look when seeing how furious her brother looked. Instead of him being afraid of her Lola was the one terrified of Lincoln for the first time in her life.

"How dare you ruin all my hard work you brat," he declared furiously as he stormed towards her. Lola found herself unable to move. He then grabbed her by the front of her dress with his left hand.

"You're out of control Lola, Mom and dad should have spanked you years ago," Lincoln shouted, before releasing her.

Once Lola fell back on the bed, Rita, Lana and the four older girls came rushing inside the bedroom.

"What's all this shouting about?" Rita asked puzzled.

Knowing Lola, who might spin a story to look all innocent Lincoln spoke quickly.

"Lola wanted me to attend a pretend tea party of hers and when I told her I was meeting my friends she got into a rage and threw the fighter plane Liam got me for my birthday on the floor and destroyed it. I had been working on since last Sunday," Lincoln explained angrily to his mother.

She was now furious at Lola's actions and frowned at her.

"What is wrong with you?" Rita shouted, "Apologize to your brother now."

The little girl managed to splutter, "Sssorry Lincoln."

Rita recalled hearing Lincoln's last sentence before entering the bedroom. Lola rose from the bed to leave but Rita said, "Stay right there I'm not done yet," then walked to the dresser and picked up Lola's brush. Lincoln and the sisters suddenly realized what their mother was going to do with the hairbrush.

Lola's face turned ashen then dashed towards the door but Rita swiftly caught her by the waist, quickly sat on the bed and turned Lola face down with her stomach resting on Rita's lap. The mother of eleven swatted her on her behind while the others except Lincoln, looked on in shock.

"Wahhhh," Lola screamed as the brush stung her kiester, then Rita administered five more swats with Lola screaming hysterically every time. After the last swat, Rita then laid the sobbing girl on her stomach on Lana's bed.

"Listen here, missy if you destroy another thing belonging to anyone else, I will sell your bed do you understand?" Rita asked her sternly.

"Ye-ye-yes," Lola blubbered.

"Good, when dinner is ready you are eating yours in here," Rita said resolutely placing the brush back on the dresser.

"I won't forgive you for this," Lincoln snarled at her then departed with the others.

"Let me see the plane," Rita asked Lincoln with concern. In his bedroom they bent down to look at the smashed plane. Rita saw tiny shards amongst the larger pieces.

"I don't think it can be repaired honey," she told him.

"What am I going to do, I can't tell Liam my sister lost her temper and smashed it? Liam told me the company that made it is going out of business and it was the last one in the store," Lincoln said.

"I'm sorry dear," Rita said then patted his head before leaving. Looking despondent, Lincoln began placing the pieces into the box, then shook his head, placed the box on his dresser then texted Rusty afterwards.

"There's an emergency at home, I'm not coming, tell the other guys," he typed.

In frustration, he dropped on his bed and muttered desparingly, ""I can't believe she just smashed it, they will never change," he thought despairingly. He then stared at the ceiling letting his mind go blank.

Lynn Sr. returned three minutes later and noticed Rita looking sitting on the couch in a bewildered mood.

"Hi honey," she said listlessly, then released a sigh, "I just spanked Lola."

Lynn Sr. almost dropped the two bags he carried. He remained speechless for a moment before speaking, "What did she do?"

"She invited Lincoln to a pretend tea party and when he said No, she got angry and knocked over the plane he spent days working on," Rita explained.

The father shook his head in total disbelief, then remarked, "How is Lincoln doing?"

'Naturally he was distressed. He shouted at her that we should have spanked her years ago. I found myself picking up her hairbrush and swatted her a few times," Rita clarified.

"He spent so much time working on that plane I'll going to chat with Lola later," Lynn Sr. told his wife before heading towards the kitchen area to start dinner.

Lincoln then opened his eyes and muttered, "I'm getting out of here for a while." Suddenly Lana peeped inside the bedroom and asked with concern, "Lincoln are you okay?"

"Well I'm still angry at Lola," he replied bitterly, "I'm going for a walk."

"I'll come with you," Lana piped up.

"Sure, "Lincoln replied suddenly grateful to have some company. They ended up walking in the park and sat for a while on a bench in silence before heading home.

 **Authors Note. Horvath's the name of a store seen at the Royal Woods Mall**


	25. Sisters angry at Lola

Rita and the children with the exception of Lola were gathered at the dinner table in anticipation for what Lynn Sr. prepared for dinner with Lori's help. Suddenly Lucy noticed Lola's absence and inquired, "Lola's not here."

At the time of Lola getting punished, Lynn Jr. Lucy, Lisa and Lily were napping so they didn't hear anything.

"I spanked her for destroying the plane your brother worked on," Rita explained to the Goth.

Lynn Jr and Lisa became wide eyed with surprise then Lynn Jr uttered, "Wow."

"She threw it against the wall when I declined her invitation to a pretend tea party," Lincoln explained bitterly.

Lynn Sr. placed a large serving bowl of paella with chicken near to Rita. She plated some onto an extra plate and proceeded to take it upstairs for Lola.

In her room, the so-called princess was muttering, "Why does he get to go wherever he wants while I have to stay here and just read and do chores?" then Rita opened the door and noticed Lola looking morose.

"Here's your dinner," Rita said dryly while approaching Lana's bed then placed the plate beside Lola then waited for her to say thanks. Rita departed upon not receiving a response.

During dinner Lincoln remained silent and just listened to everyone else chat.

"I'd just have to find all the stores that sell toys on my laptop and ask if they have any in stock," he thought.

When dinner was over, Rita said, "Luna and Luan I'll help you wash the dishes and clean up."

Lincoln rushed back into his bedroom and turned on his laptop to begin his search.

Later every sister except Leni, Luan, and Lynn Jr. approached the twin's room with Lana wearing a grave expression. Lola remained lying on Lana's bed in a gloomy mood and most of the paella her father made was left uneaten. She glanced up and saw her sisters.

"Lola you were way out of line destroying Lincoln's plane," Lori scolded the girl as they group came closer to her.

"Yeah we may have bullied him sometimes to prevent him from getting something that he wanted out of jealousy but we have never broken any of his belongings," Luna added her tone laced with anger.

"He must have spent days assembling it," Lucy spoke in her monotone way.

"And if it wasn't for your greediness at the block party, we wouldn't have beaten up that boy and we would be enjoying our summer vacation," Lori added bitterly.

"Yes I could be listening to my music or talking to Sam," Luna added.

"And our parental units wouldn't have contacted the Institute and have them remove my equipment. I could be working on my experiments," Lisa whined.

Then Lana became furious and almost shouted, "Why are you so mean to everyone? I care more about Lincoln than you. I should have told Pop-Pop about Luan taking Lincoln's sheets to divide Lori and Leni's room during that stupid fight and you giving me dirty clothes and telling me to give them to Lincoln to sleep with or you'll tell mom and dad I still eat from the garbage cans and dumpsters."

The others became wide-eyed in surprise.

"I can't believe you'd stoop so low bra," Luna uttered.

"And you still snitch on us even after we found out your secret Lindsay Sweetwater told Lincoln," Lisa declared.

Lana wasn't done raging at her twin.

"You know what, you can find somewhere else to sleep from now," she demanded.

Lola, who remained silent the entire time while listening to her sisters wrath turned around and faced her sisters

"Fine I'll sleep with Leni," she said petulantly.

"You're not sleeping in my room," Lori declared with arms crossed.

Luna scowled then remarked, "Don't think about sleeping in mine."

"Mine either," Lucy declared.

The deep frown on Lisa's face made Lola somewhat afraid of asking to bunk with the genius.

"Fine I'll sleep on the smelly couch," Lola said peeved.

"Well since we don't have TV, I'm picking out some clothes for tomorrow then get to bed," Lori declared.

While the others headed towards the door, Lori picked up Lola's plate from the dresser then gave her a stern warning.

"And if you even think about getting back at Lincoln, we won't hesitate to tell mom and dad the secret Lindsay Sweetwater told Lincoln," she warned.

After Lori dumped Lola's leftovers, she washed the plate and utensils then put them away after drying them.

Lori never noticed Lincoln's birthday card to Lola was missing because Lola tore it into pieces and threw it in a dresser drawer when she stomped into her room after destroying the plane.

##################################################################

It was only 8:20 pm. Lola was finished putting on her nightgown when Lana entered their bedroom carrying two blue sheets she got from the linen closet in the basement.

"These are yours," Lana declared before throwing the sheets on her bed. The other girls were changing into their sleeping clothes. Lincoln already changed into his pajamas thirty minutes earlier and fell asleep while watching a repeat episode of Desert Storm on his laptop.

Lola grabbed her pillow then the sheets. Lynn Sr. was coming from the kitchen upon checking the back door and locking the kitchen window. He noticed Lola laying a sheet on the couch on his way to the master bedroom.

"What are you doing out of your room?" he asked inquiringly.

"Weell Lana doesn't want me sleeping with her and the others don't want me either," Lola said dejectedly

"Okay I'll tell you mom you're sleeping on the couch," he replied then hesitated before leaving.

"I promised I'd talk with her," he thought but suddenly became apprehensive about the idea.

"Come on Lynn, stop being afraid of her," an inner voice chastised the father.

He confidently approached Lola who was about to cover herself with the other sheet.

"Lola could I talk with you for a moment?" he asked.

She sat straight up and Lynn Sr. took a seat beside her.

"Why did you get angry and destroy Lincoln's plane because he didn't want to play with you?" he asked.

Lola refused to answer so Lynn Sr. decided to continue.

"I know you kids hate being punished this way but your mom and I decided just grounding you all for a month wasn't enough for assaulting that boy but it's not going to be for the entire summer," he explained.

Suddenly Lola blurted out, "Because he gets to go with his friends to the arcade and go to birthday parties while I'm stuck at home just reading and playing board games. I cannot stand playing another game of checkers. I wish he misbehaved at the block party so he would have gotten punished with us."

"So you're upset that he gets to enjoy himself?" he asked but Lola didn't respond.

"And Lori, Luna, Lucy, Lisa and Lana came in my room and started telling me off saying why do I have to be mean and they all blamed me for ruining their summer. They acted like Lincoln is a perfect angel who never does anything wrong. Like they forgot that he clogged the toilet lots of times," Lola whined.

"I remember," Lynn Sr. replied, then thought, "He ruined all my karaoke CD's."

"Remember the picture he took for your and mom's anniversary? He wanted to take another one but wanted to change the way we looked so he used the hose to wash my makeup off and Lana's mud then tied us up with the hose and dragged us outside, and made Luna wear an ugly wig. He and Clyde also tried to steal Bluebell cookies when Lana and I were training to join the Bluebells," Lola admitted truthfully.

"Really I didn't know about that," Lynn Sr. mused.

"I didn't tell you about it because we sold them kale chips because the Bluebells stopped making cookies," Lola continued.

"And if he didn't go on strike over chores the house wouldn't have gotten so messy and we wouldn't have panicked when we couldn't find Lily," Lola continued.

The father of eleven was listening keenly the whole time. He was beginning to get drowsy so decided to call it a night.

"You need to get some sleep, it's getting late," he said gently.

"Goodnight daddy," Lola said sweetly

"Goodnight Lola," he replied.

In the master bedroom, Rita was finished looking over her work schedule on her cell phone when Lynn Sr. walked in.

"I just talked to Lola, she's actually on the couch because Lana doesn't want her sleeping in her bed," Lynn Sr. reported.

Rita gave a surprised look to her husband, "Well I guess it's okay," she remarked.

When Lynn Sr. got under the sheets, he turned off his lamp. Lola was asleep within three minutes.

Lori placed the book she was reading on her nightstand and yawned.

" _What a day,"_ she thought, then suddenly the scene of Lola getting swatted flashed through her mind.

"I hope mom doesn't have to resort to spanking again," she muttered.

Rita had been awake for the last ten minutes thinking about spanking Lola but she wasn't feeling guilty about doing it. Her own mother Marie disciplined the four older girls by swatting them a few times on their behinds when they acted up. This was the first time Rita spanked any of her children because she and Lynn Sr. didn't believe in spanking.

Suddenly a feeling of trepidation about Lola overcame Rita.

"Oh my God, suppose she turns out to be like Sylvia," she thought in a panic.


	26. Rita tells Albert

Monday

A bright new morning arrived with Lori being the first person awake. She glanced quickly at her alarm clock and noticed fifteen minutes remained before it was supposed to ring.

Fully rested Lori thought, "Wow I better take the opportunity to take a bath."

She avoided turning the water on heavily so her siblings wouldn't be disturbed by the sound of the water. While Lori made her breakfast after getting dressed, the four alarm clocks in the other sister's rooms started ringing.

Meanwhile Rita was shaking Lola's left shoulder to wake her up

"Lola it's time to get up," the mother insisted before leaving to get Lily.

By the time Lola got upstairs all the other sisters except Leni and Lily were in the bathroom line. Suddenly remembering some of her sisters confronting her yesterday Lola said in the most cheerful tone she could muster, "Good morning everyone." She was met with a stony silence except from Luan.

"Good morning sis," Luan answered.

Meanwhile Lynn Sr. was cooking everyone's favorite breakfasts while Rita was feeding Lily after giving her a bath in the kitchen sink.

Whitney's car horn interrupted the silence while Lori drank the last of her coffee.

"See you later everyone," she chirped. Lori grabbed her handbag from the coffee table in the living room then rushed outside.

Once the after-breakfast rituals were done by the others, they climbed into Vanzilla. Rita was heading to the restaurant first to drop Lynn Sr. off before going to the community center with the girls.

It was ten-fifteen when Lincoln finally opened his eyes form his slumber. He realized how silent it was throughout the house. Tomorrow Lincoln would start attending computer fun classes at the library running during the summer Tuesdays to Thursdays from 1-3 p.m. Liam was attending the classes and talked about how enjoyable the classes which made Lincoln decide to join.

Realizing how hungry he was, Lincoln jumped out of bed and washed his hands and face then prepared two eggs and three breakfast sausages by frying them and warmed leftover baked beans in the microwave then poured some Nesquik cocoa into a mug with warm milk.

He casually took his time eating then washed what he used, dried them, then set upon the task of feeding Lana's pets. Lana decided to keep them housed in the basement for a while. Once the job was completed, Lincoln went upstairs with one intention in mind.

" _Now I'll start calling those numbers_ ," he thought.

Last night he spent a considerable amount of time on his laptop finding stores in Royal Woods and surrounding neighborhoods that sold toys and wrote the phone numbers in a notebook he used in school.

Lincoln scowled then muttered bitterly, "If it wasn't for that little beast the plane would be in one piece and I could invite Liam over to see it."

Instantly his cell phone rang and Stella's name popped up.

"Oh Hi Stella, it's so nice to hear from you," he answered happily.

"Hi Lincoln, just wanted to give you a call. We returned from Thailand a few days ago actually we spent some extra days there," she replied.

"Did you enjoy yourself?" he asked.

"I sure had a wonderful time thanks for asking. By the way I mailed some postcards on Saturday so look out for yours," Stella replied.

"I will," he simply responded.

"How are you and your family?" she asked next.

Lincoln pondered, " _Well I can't mention anything bad that's happened."_

"Everybody's fine, there was a Fourth of July block party on our street and my family and I went and enjoyed ourselves," he responded.

Five seconds of awkward silence passed then Lincoln inquired, "So what are your plans for the rest of the summer?"

Stella replied, "Well I'm staying home today relaxing and watching television and tomorrow I'm starting gymnastic classes at the RWYC. I'll be there every day except Mondays and Fridays. I can meet you and the others at Gus on Fridays."

"That's great Stella," he answered enthusiastically then thought, " _I better wrap up this call."_

"Thanks for calling Stella, it was great hearing from you, have a nice day," he merely told his friend.

"Bye Lincoln," Stella chirped before ending the call.

"Now to start calling these numbers," Lincoln muttered then dialed the first one.

This is Mr. Delgado the Manager speaking how can I assist you?" he heard.

"Hello this is Lincoln, I'd like to find out if you still have a model fighter Magno EX plane from the toy company ToyMagik available in your store?" he inquired.

"Give us a moment while I check on that for you," Mr. Delgado said.

Lincoln waited only four minutes until Mr. Delgado returned

"I'm sorry they've been sold out since yesterday and we aren't receiving any more," the Manager replied.

Lincoln released a sigh, "Thanks for your help Mr. Delgado have a nice day."

After hanging up he dialed the next number.

Meanwhile at the community center day camp, the younger girls and kids in their age group were finishing their swimming session of the day. Kids ages eleven to sixteen would begin their swim sessions thirty minutes later. During the time the sisters attended summer school, Rita had signed the girls up for the swim sessions and art and craft, cooking and for Lucy creative writing classes. Lynn Jr. had objected at first to Rita not signing her up for other sports but Rita was determined that the no sports rule for her athletic daughter should remain. The girls wore bathing suits they bought on vacation.

While changing into her regular clothes after drying off, Lola began to recall the spanking she received from Rita.

It was really painful she thought miserably, then suddenly Lincoln's face with the furious expression he wore flashed before Lola making her shudder a little which didn't go unnoticed by Lisa.

Forty minutes later, Lincoln was now finished calling every Royal Woods store on the list with no results.

He sighed dejectedly, "Well I'll have to call the stores outside of Royal Woods."

Sometime later still no success. Lincoln decided to take a breather and call the other numbers later.

##################################################################

"Where does the time go?" Rita wondered upon glancing at the oval clock on the office wall beside her. It was 1:20 pm.

The day was creeping by rather slowly for Rita. Today she managed to secure only two appointments, her first patient arrived at 10:40 am to get two cavities filled and the other was arriving at two p.m for a root canal. Rita's flex schedule allowed her to receive appointments based around the day camp activities ending at 4:00 pm. She was just finished looking over the paperwork of a patient coming in tomorrow.

Rita entered the small kitchen and removed a beef burrito from the refrigerator and placed it in the microwave for two minutes. While waiting for it to warm, Rita leaned against the counter and started thinking, "I should call dad and tell him that Lola destroyed Lincoln's plane and that I spanked her."

Instantly she became a little frightened about what his reaction would be.

"But he has to know," she thought.

The two minutes up, she removed the burrito with a paper napkin and ate in the kitchen then returned to her office after lunch. Rita placed the call to her dad's cell phone immediately. She knew Albert relaxed in his room at this time of day.

"Hi dad, Rita calling," she greeted once he answered.

"Afternoon Rita so nice to hear you," Albert replied, "I hope my grandkids are behaving themselves?"

"That's what I'm calling about, yesterday Lola wanted to have a pretend tea party and invited Lincoln but because he was heading out to see his friends he said no," Rita began, then released a deep breath.

"Well she got into a rage and destroyed that plane he worked on," she continued.

On the other end, Albert could feel his blood pressure rise slightly.

"What! I can't believe it," he said in disbelief.

"I rushed inside Lola's room when I heard Lincoln shouting at her, when he told me that she smashed the plane, I picked up her hairbrush and spanked her," Rita added.

Albert pinched the bridge of his nose then shook his head.

"I'm so disappointed in Lola right now, something must be done about that temper of hers," Albert continued.

I know dad, I just don't want her ending up like Aunt Sylvia Rita told him

"Well so glad you called," Albert replied, "I'll talk to you another time."

"Bye Dad," Rita said then smiled after hanging up.

##################################################################

Rita arrived at the community center at 4:00 pm. Thankful to be going home the girls hopped into Vanzilla as quickly as possible.

"How was your day girls?" Rita asked pleasantly.

"It was okay," Luna replied nonchalantly

"I made a necklace today," Lana piped up, then showed Rita a blue and green one.

That's very pretty Lana Rita replied then smiled at her

Upon reaching home, they entered the house. Lola was the first person to step in and noticed Lincoln playing video games on the couch. He just returned twenty minutes ago from walking the family dog Charles.

"Hi everyone," he greeted, then uttered frostily, "except Lola."

Lola became somewhat scared by his bitter tone and sped upstairs

"Oh my god I think she's afraid of Lincoln," Lisa thought.

 **RWYC means Royal Woods Youth Center**


	27. Albert's Idea

Before swinging by the community center to get her daughters Rita stopped at the local supermarket and picked up a large take-out box with a sufficient amount of barbeque wings in the deli section. She was also cooking some rice and making a tossed salad for dinner.

"Mom I boiled some potatoes, you can just reheat them and make mashed potatoes," Lincoln told her.

"Thanks sweetie I really appreciate that," Rita said then addressed the others.

"Girls you can have something to drink and relax until dinner is ready."

The sisters followed their mom who was carrying the wings and after quenching their thirst with some bottled lemonade, went upstairs to lay down.

Within a half hour later Rita was calling "Dinners ready." Lori arrived home just at the moment the others started eating. Lola sat at a distance from Lincoln during the evening meal seated between Lynn Jr. and Luan.

"Only a few more places to call," Lincoln thought as he consumed the last mouthful.

"Luna and Luan please clean up," Rita instructed them before leaving to work on her novel.

Sometime later, a frustrated Lincoln closed the notebook he'd written the phone numbers in.

"Well no luck whatsoever, might as well tell Liam the truth," he thought, looking at the ceiling of his room while laying on his bed.

There has to be places I hadn't thought about he said aloud.

Then came a soft knock on the door.

"Come in he said before sitting up.

Rita walked inside him and inquired, "I overheard you talking to a Mrs. Francis on the phone when I was taking Lily for a bath."

"Yes she's the Manager of an Arrow store in Huntington Oaks. I spent most of the day calling the phone numbers of stores to inquire if the plane was available but everyone I spoke to said they're sold out," Lincoln explained.

Rita sympathized with her son, "I'm sorry Lincoln. If I could think of something to make it up to you."

"You can send the little beast to an orphanage or juvie," he thought wryly in reference to Lola.

Silence reigned for a second until both heard Lily calling, "Mommeee."

Rita responded to her youngest plea by shouting, "Coming sweetheart."

"I promised to read her a bedtime story, night dear," Rita said finally.

"Night Mom, and thanks for being so concerned," Lincoln replied smiling slightly.

Rita closed the door behind her and Lincoln intended to call it a day.

For the second night, Lola slept on the couch.

Tuesday

Liam's mother arrived at the Louds house to drop Lincoln and her son at the library. They reached during the children's free lunch hour and met and two other classmates Darren and Hillary. The quartet enjoyed ham and cheese sandwiches, chocolate chip cookies and fruit punch served prior to entering a children's computer room the classes were held in.

"Isn't Miz Crystal a delight?" Liam admitted to his white haired friend in his unmistakable Southern drawl while they sat in the lounge for a five minute break at two pm.

Mrs. Crystal a charming lady with chestnut colored hair was the instructor.

"Yes I like her patience when someone isn't clear on something," Lincoln admitted.

They relaxed without saying a word for the duration of the break until Darren glanced at his watch and informed them it was time to return.

Classes over, the friends bade goodbye to Darren and Hillary and rushed into Liam's moms car since the rain was falling slightly. Lincoln reached inside the house in the nick of time before a heavy downpour started.

His phone began vibrating and Lincoln glanced at the screen. It was a text from his mother saying, "I'm swinging by Burpin' Burgers so don't fix anything for dinner."

Putting the phone on his dresser, Lincoln removed his slightly clothes and donned some dry ones. After that he threw his body on the bed then fell into a deep slumber.

The rain had ceased completely and the sun was shining again by the time Rita and the girls arrived home. Lincoln was still asleep.

"I just realized how silent the house is when we aren't making noise," Luna mused.

"I wonder if Lincolns home," Rita asked while the others made a beeline upstairs to wash their hands. She peered inside the bedroom door and beamed upon seeing his sleeping form.

Rita thought," I hate having to disturb him but he should eat his burgers and fries before they get cold," then began shaking his left shoulder.

Lincoln opened his eyes slowly and recognized Rita as the person waking him.

"Honey get your burgers and fries before they get cold," Rita urged.

He rubbed his eyes lightly then rose to a sitting position. Walking towards the bathroom he heard his sister's voices behind the closed door.

"Stop splashing me," he heard Lola's shrill tone which made him decide to wash his hands in the kitchen sink instead.

While everyone happily chowed down on their favorite fast food Lori arrived home with a boxed dinner. On the journey home Whitney suggested they buy something at Penny's for themselves.

Everyone was preparing to scatter in various directions after dinner but Rita had other plans.

"All right kids before you leave I'd like to speak with you after I put Lily down for a nap," Rita began then picked up the toddler.

"I wonder what mom wants to talk about." Lana said when Rita was out of earshot.

"Probably she and dad decided to end all the punishments," Luan said with hope in her voice but upon Rita's return that was not the case.

"This is just about Sunday's incident. Your father and I never believed in spanking but Lola you had pushed me to my limit with your spiteful behavior. I have no intention of resorting to spanking again so make sure you watch your tempers regarding each other," Rita said emphatically.

"Yes Mom," they all said together.

"That's all kids," Rita said. Together they rushed away to their bedrooms.

Wednesday

A new day had begun with Lori coming home earlier than expected. Rita and the other girls sans Leni were quite surprised upon seeing her reading on the couch. Lincoln wasn't present because he was hanging out with Liam and Clyde at Gus. Liam's mother dropped him and Liam at the arcade after the computer lessons and Lincoln called Rita at her office to inform her where he was going.

"Goodness Lori, why are you home so early?" Rita inquired with surprise.

"Well at exactly two thirty there was a problem with the main computer system and the computers just shut down. We sat around for thirty minutes until our boss Stephanie returned and told us to go home and that we shouldn't come in tomorrow because the problem won't get fixed until tomorrow afternoon," Lori explained.

"That's too bad, honey," Rita exclaimed with the utmost regret.

"The good news is that we're getting paid to stay home," Lori said.

"That's wonderful dear," Rita responded.

"And since it's going to be boring at home with no TV or my cellphone, I'm going to assist dad at the restaurant tomorrow," Lori added.

"Thanks for wanting to help your dad, he'd greatly appreciate it," Rita replied then smiled warmly.

It was sunset and the residents of the senior center where Albert lived were currently engaged in various activities after dinner. Some retired earlier to their bedrooms while some were taking their evening medications. A few congregated in the living room downstairs to watch the shared TV. Others like Albert and Myrtle were sitting together at a corner table with Albert's laptop before them.

The grandfather clicked on a TV channel called TULA. For the past four weeks the couple have been watching a new reality TV show called Family Rescue and became hooked on the show. The host was a former Marine Kurt Stonewall who helped parents and their problem kids by using a no nonsense approach and stern language.

Each episode begins with the host meeting the families at their homes and observing them for a while before starting to straighten them out.

When the show ended, Albert logged off and released a yawn.

"Another great episode, gosh that Kenzi girl was the worse one so far," Myrtle said.

"Not to mention the twin boys, what were their crazy names, ah Kyson and Kason," Albert added.

"Goodnight honey bun," Myrtle cooed

"Goodnight honey see you tomorrow," Albert cooed before they shared a quick kiss on the lips before departing to their respective quarters.

Albert turned down the comforter on his bed then plugged the bathtub with the intention of taking a bath. Satisfied the water was the right temperature, Albert eased himself in the tub and emerged from the bathroom ten minutes later.

Finally getting under the sheets after putting on his pajamas, Albert was finding it difficult falling asleep so began thinking about tonight's episode that featured a family named the Atkins. Instantly Albert jolted upright in bed.

"That's it! I think this guy can help Rita and Lynn," he exclaimed.

He had done some reading on the internet about the show in general and discovered Mr. Stonewall helped families who weren't interested in appearing on the show but wanted his assistance privately.

"I'll just call Rita tomorrow and ask her opinion about it," Albert mused.

Rising from his bed, the grandfather retrieved a half gallon milk carton from the mini-fridge and poured some into a mug and warmed it in the microwave. The warm beverage helped him to fall into slumber within minutes.


	28. Ruth gets a call from Rita

While the children slept soundly in the comfort of their beds, Rita sat at the dining table editing a chapter of her novel.

"Thank goodness this chapters finished," Rita muttered. She was extremely pleased with her novels progress and hoped for the day it would eventually get published.

Rita mused, "Time to get ready for bed."

Finally Rita got into bed after taking a bath which relaxed her. She closed her eyes and attempted to sleep but began thinking about Lola scaring people into buying lemonade and instigating the argument with Aidan at the block party.

Suddenly Lola smashing Lincoln's plane reminded her of an incident her father told her about regarding Sylvia and Ruth while growing up.

"I think it's time to let the kids know about Sylvia so they don't wind up like her," Rita said with determination.

Suddenly doubt started to cross Rita's mind.

"The problem is, is Ruth willing to tell them since she hates Sylvia?" she added.

On Thursday evening Albert decided to call to his daughter before joining Myrtle for a game of checkers in the recreation room. At the moment his grandkids just finished dinner and were reading in their bedrooms. Rita decided to work on her novel in her bedroom sitting at her dresser but instantly she opened the manuscript her cell phone rang.

"Hello dad, is everything okay?" she asked.

"Yes Rita, I'm perfectly fine," he replied, "How are my grandkids?"

"They are all right," she responded.

"I just called to ask you something, have you heard of a show called Family Rescue that comes on TULA?" he asked.

"No I haven't heard of that show," Rita replied

Albert started to explain, "The host Kurt Stonewall is a former Marine who is as tough as nails, he helps parents with their out of control kids to make them behave. Last night it came to me that he could help you and Lynn so the kids will stay on the right path."

Rita became doubtful and replied, "I don't know about letting total strangers judge our parenting."

"Honey you don't worry about that, Mr. Stonewall also meets families privately," Albert reassured her.

"I'll have to discuss the matter with Lynn first then call you about our decision," Rita responded.

"Just think it over for a while before you consult him," Albert replied back.

"Okay dad, it was nice hearing from you, goodbye," Rita said.

"Goodbye Rita," Albert answered then clicked the off button.

Meanwhile Lisa walked up to Lincoln's room and knocked on the door. She waited for him to say, "Come in," before entering. Unknowingly to Lincoln, Lisa asked her sisters to act civil around him ever since Sunday's incident.

Lincoln turned down the comic he was reading on his bed.

"Hey Lisa what do you want?" he inquired in a friendly tone.

Lisa cleared her throat, "I just wanted to bring this to your attention, it seems that Lola is now terrified of you as a result of your confrontation with her on Sunday."

Lincoln stared at the little genius for six seconds then sneered, "So, its time someone stands up to the little brat, it's absolutely ridiculous that older kids are scared of her."

"It actually does seem absurd for kids twice Lola's size to fear her," Lisa admitted.

Lincoln looked at her skeptically. She usually never wanted to admit when her brother was right instead making dismissive comments regarding his intelligence.

"You agree with me, now that's surprising," he replied sarcastically.

"Anyway back to Lola, even Luna is aware of the matter, I overheard her telling Luan and Lynn about it," Lisa continued.

"I don't care, its time she respects people older than herself, I'm getting too old to be afraid of someone younger than me. Remember when she offered to give her fries to that guy at the mall and he refused to take them? As a matter of fact you should begin respecting older people too. You wanted to chloroform me because you intended to remove one of my kidneys, and put your whole family to sleep and planted tracking chips inside us," Lincoln continued.

"What how on earth did you know about the tracking chips?" Lisa asked astonished.

"Because you looked a little nervous when you said "No" after I asked you if dad was the only person you planted a tracking chip in. You think you can trick people because you're a genius but you can't fool everybody all the time," he replied.

Lisa remained dumbfounded by her brother's admission about the tracking chips and decided to leave without saying another word.

Once the door closed behind Lisa, Lincoln continued reading while Lisa retreated back into her bedroom to change into her pajamas and retire a little earlier.

Lori breathed a huge sigh of relief as she and Lynn Sr. settled into Kentaro's car. Today was rather a hectic one at the restaurant. Eleven coworkers from a nearby office came for a business lunch meeting and she had to assist her dad with making three vegetarian dishes for the table. Nonetheless Lori was thankful to go home. They managed to get inside without waking Lola who was sleeping on the couch for a third night.

"I should buy an air mattress so she doesn't have to sleep on the couch," Lynn Sr. thought as he changed into his pajamas.

Friday

At Gus, Lincoln and his friends spent two and a half hours playing a variety of arcade games when Clyde suddenly felt his phone vibrating and quickly read the text message from Howard.

"My dad says he's outside waiting," Clyde told his friends.

Tomorrow he was leaving with his dads to spend eighteen days in the Bahamas for their family vacation.

"Bye Clyde enjoy yourself," Lincoln said then both friends shared a fist bump then Clyde was pulled into a group hug for five seconds.

"Bye everyone," Clyde said cheerily before departing.

Stella looked at her watch and remarked, "My mom is arriving in seven minutes."

"How about we call it a day, it's close to dinnertime anyway," Liam suggested.

The other boys started making their journeys home.

"I should definitely call Aunt Ruth," Rita pondered while breaking spaghetti in a large bowl. She had stopped at the supermarket before picking up the girls and purchased meatballs at the deli section. Luna was busy taking lettuce and tomatoes out the fridge to make a salad.

"Hi mom," Rita heard suddenly.

"Afternoon Lincoln, how are you?" she asked her son.

"I'm fine mom," he replied nonchalantly then rushed upstairs.

Lincoln dropped his key ring on the dresser beside Stella's postcard he retrieved from the mailbox on Tuesday. He quickly jumped on the bed to nap for a while.

"Luna please watch the spaghetti, I have to make an important call," Rita announced.

Inside her bedroom, Rita began dialing Ruth house phone number. The elderly lady never owned a cell phone. Ruth's phone rang seven times before she answered.

"Hello Rita, nice to hear from you she said. Ruth was just waking up from a nap.

"Hello Ruthie I hope you're well now," Rita asked

"I'm back to normal is that why you're calling?" Ruth queried

"Yes and I also wanted to ask we can visit you this Sunday. I think it's time the kids knew about Sylvia," Rita said plainly.

Suddenly Aunt Ruth mood darkened and she scowled heavily.

"Don't mention that psychotic bitch," she snapped which frightened Rita somewhat.

"Calm down Ruthie, Lynn and I just want them to know about the kind of person she was because Lola destroyed something very important Lincoln owned. I want the girls to know what can happen to them later if they don't control their tempers," Rita explained.

Ruth sighed defeatedly then responded, "All right how about one p.m."

"It's a deal Ruthie, goodbye." Rita told her

Saturday

"Luna Luan Junior I need your help at the restaurant today. Someone is celebrating their fiftieth birthday with their family," Lynn Sr. asked them at breakfast.

"That'd be great instead of doing chores," Luna mused. Her other sisters also thought the same.

"Well do it," Luan said eternally grateful

Rita and Lincoln did the laundry and the younger girls dusted and vacuumed. Lincoln just stayed home and rearranged the contents of his dresser drawers then played video games and helped prepare dinner.

Sunday

"Kids we're visiting Aunt Ruth today," Rita declared when breakfast was over.

They all began groaning in annoyance. Rita had discussed the matter with Lynn Sr. last night when the kids were asleep and he steadfastly agreed.

Lynn Jr. began grumbling, "Why do we have to go?"

Rita ignored her complaining and said, "We're leaving before one pm so you can relax after our exercises."

Sometime later the parents entered the living room where the kids were reading.

"Time to go kids," she declared.

They reluctantly followed their parents outside with heavy hearts. Within minutes Vanzilla was nearing Ruth's house.

"Would you like some lemonade?" Ruth asked cordially while the family sat in her living room. Ruth's cats were asleep all over the house.

"Yes Aunt Ruth," the younger girls and Lincoln said together.

"No thanks Aunt Ruth," Lori told her politely

"Okay mom what's the reason you dragged us here," Lynn Jr. asked impatiently

Ruth returned shortly carrying a tray with six glasses of lemonade. Once Lincoln and the younger ones had taken their glasses Rita spoke.

"Ruth thank you for inviting us here because I want the kids to know about Sylvia."

The children gave each other curious glances.


	29. All about Sylvia

The Loud children were becoming curious about this Aunt Sylvia they hadn't heard of before. Ruth sat on the small sofa then rubbed her temples a bit before speaking

"First of all Sylvia had a dreadful temper. When she ranted and raved over the pettiest of reasons, Albert and I would hide in his bedroom with a chair under the door knob until she calmed down. Our folks never cared to do anything about it because she was the pretty child, they just told us to endure it and not provoke her. When I was ten years old I rested one of my favorite dolls on her bed to remove the sheets from my bed because it was laundry day. Sylvia walked in the bedroom and became furious when she noticed my doll on her bed. She grabbed it, gave me a nasty glare then screamed at me, "I said stop putting your stupid things on my side of the room," and then she popped the head off and threw it and the rest of the doll at me," Ruth revealed.

The Loud sisters became wide eyed in surprise, "Oh my Gosh," Lori uttered.

"Did you manage to get the head of your doll back on?" Lana asked.

No dear I couldn't so I had to throw it away," Ruth said sadly.

"She'd sometimes throw anything at me or Albert in anger or just for her enjoyment. Once she placed me in a head lock for about twenty seconds," Ruth added

The children except Lynn Jr. and Lola gasped in shock

"She did it for her own amusement, I could barely breathe. Whenever she couldn't find something she'd lose her temper and stomp around the house with her fists doubled and scream she was going to beat or punch someone if she couldn't find it," Ruth continued.

Lincoln became surprised at what Ruth revealed next.

"She loved mocking everything Albert liked as a hobby. She made fun of him for his stamp and baseball collection and made rude comments whenever he spent time looking at them and say something like, those are utterly childish or he was too old to keep collecting dumb things. She'd also get jealous when Albert or I got some good fortune like a perfect report card," she continued.

"She couldn't help but insult me by saying I'd never get a husband because of my extra toes and that I looked like a goblin. Well the joke was on her since I got married even though it lasted three years. Much to our relief she dropped out of school at sixteen and left home I was so glad she was gone. One year later, our father received a call from her saying she was working a waitress job. Months later we heard she got arrested for attacking a customer. She called father from jail and asked him to bail her out and he brought her home but five days later we woke up and discovered she left. She didn't leave our parents a note. Sylvia contacted mom when she was twenty to announce she just got married. Two years later she was in the news for chasing her husband with a knife because he forgot their wedding anniversary."

"Oh my gosh," Lori thought

"Sylvia managed to slash Michael once on his right shoulder before locking himself in their bedroom and called and called the police," Ruth continued.

"Did he press charges against her?" Luna inquired but Ruth shook her head.

"No instead he asked the judge to send her to a psychiatric hospital and he filed for divorce a few days after Sylvia was admitted. She stayed at the hospital for a year then returned home. Albert and I had moved out then I was living with a roommate and working in a department store. Sylvia eventually left home but stopped keeping in touch with our folks. Then eight years ago your grandfather visited me and to my shock Sylvia was there with him. I became furious and declared she's not stepping into my house. Sylvia said fine. I asked "how did you find Albert" and Sylvia said she searched for him on the Internet. She started telling us a sob story about how she regretted ill-treating us when we were all growing up. One year later your grandfather called to tell me the nursing home she lived at contacted him to say Sylvia had a fatal stroke the day before. He also told me three months before he received a letter in the mail from her with instructions on what kind of funeral she wanted and he should use the check she enclosed to pay for the funeral. Even though he disliked her, your grandfather went through with it because she never had children of her own," Ruth continued.

"Did you attend the funeral?" Lucy asked.

"Yes dear but only because I wanted the satisfaction of looking at that witches lifeless body," Ruth declared bitterly.

Lynn Sr. then glanced at his watch and commented, "Ruth it was nice visiting but we have to go."

Before the Louds could rise from their seats Aunt Ruth asked, "Wait a minute I have something to say to Lincoln."

Ruth directed her gaze towards the only boy in the family, "Lincoln I'd like to say I'm sorry for giving you special chores whenever you kids visited me. I only did that because your grandfather wasn't bullied that much by Sylvia so I was taking it out on you," Ruth admitted.

"It's okay Aunt Ruth," Lincoln reply.

The younger girls became anxious to leave because they were feeling hungry.

"Goodbye Ruthie," Rita said.

"Thanks for all that information," Lynn Sr. added.

While listening to Aunt Ruth speak about her rough childhood, Leni, Lincoln, Lana and Lucy began feeling sympathy for Ruth.

"Bye Aunt Ruth," the children told her but their voices weren't cheerful.

The Louds walked out of Aunt Ruth's house and towards the family van parked on the front lawn. On the journey home, everyone remained silent for a few moments and gazed out of the windows until Leni spoke.

"Poor Aunt Ruth, I feel sorry for her when she was growing up," she remarked in a sympathetic way.

"I can't believe Aunt Ruth and Pop-Pop went through all that," Luan remarked with a little sadness.

Lincoln spoke next, "Yeah, it's hard to believe I'm not the only one whose hobbies are mocked by their sisters."

Lisa scoffed at her brother's remark, "When did we ever make fun of your interests and hobbies?"

"Lisa don't pretend you cannot remember when you all poked fun at me because I wore my Ace Savvy costume. Then Lynn told me comics were boring, Luan said science fiction stinks and someone I shall not mention by name said my coin collection was lame," Lincoln added.

There was silence for the remainder of the ride home. Once they reached inside the house Rita asked, "Kids please come into the living room for a moment."

They sat obediently on the couch while the parents stood before the eleven children. Rita was the first to speak.

"The only reason we asked Ruthie to talk about her sister was because we wanted to show you what can happen when people cannot control their tempers especially you Lola and Junior," she began.

"So you're basically saying that Lola could actually harm someone with a weapon when she's older if nothings done about her anger?" Lori asked Rita with concern.

"It's a very high possibility, and you too Junior," Rita answered, "Because you threatened your brother with a bat."

"Rita let's hope that doesn't happen," Lynn Sr. said.

"So girls just remember what Ruthie said and keep your tempers under control so whatever happened to Sylvia doesn't happen to any of you," Rita said emphatically.

"Well it's time I get started making dinner," Lynn Sr. remarked, "Lori and Luna I need your help."

"Leni could you put Lily down for a nap," Rita asked.

While the children going towards the stairs with Leni carrying Lily, Lucy and Lisa were walking behind everyone else.

"Lisa could I speak with you," Lucy whispered.

The five year old turned around and nodded her head in agreement, then followed Lucy outside to the porch.

Lisa observed the solemn expression on Lucy's face and inquired, "What do you want to converse about?"

"You might think I'm being weird for saying this but I think Lola is a reincarnation of Aunt Sylvia," Lucy revealed.

Lisa's expression was one of skeptism. "You can't really believe that?" she asked.

"I'm serious Lisa, almost everything Sylvia did to Aunt Ruth and Pop-Pop Lola does to all of us. Sylvia destroyed Aunt Ruth's doll and Lola wrecked Lincoln's plane, blackmailing and attacking others, then both have the same uncontrollable tempers," Lucy replied.

"It still sounds outlandish to me Goth sister, well I need a little rejuvenation before dinner time," Lisa said.

Both girls headed inside and kept themselves occupied until they and the others were called down for the evening meal.

When he got under the covers that night, Lincoln's thoughts were about what Ruth endured from Sylvia while growing up and realized they had something in common.

"I wonder what Clyde is doing,"were his final thoughts before falling asleep.

 **This is for Guest reviewers, please stop pestering me about sending Luna to Aunt Ruth as a punishment. She already received a punishment.**


	30. Decision time

A new morning had arisen with everyone fully rested and ready to start the day. Lola was now sleeping on an air mattress Lynn Sr. bought on Friday which was set up in the living room. Lincoln decided to stay home today but would later go to the mall to buy another comic. While brushing his teeth after breakfast, Lincoln mused, "Its someone's birthday today but I can't remember who, I'll just look at today's date."

He always wrote the names of family and friends under their birthdates on his calendar.

Oh its Stella's, I should buy a birthday card for her," he said aloud upon looking at the calendar then started dressing. After feeding Lana's pets he returned to his bedroom.

"Good Morning Stella," Lincoln announced cheerfully to his friend when she answered

Oh morning Lincoln she greeted back

"I just called to wish you a Happy Birthday," he replied

"Thank you very much Lincoln," Stella responded.

"So are your parents having a party?" he asked.

"No because most of our friends are either on vacation or going soon," Stella replied regretfully.

'That's right girl Jordan, Molly, Kat and Clyde are on vacation then Artie and Rusty are leaving on Friday," Lincoln remarked.

"My family already sang Happy Birthday to me this morning and mom is buying a cake which we'll eat after dinner," Stella explained

"Well enjoy your birthday Stella, see you on Friday," Lincoln told his friend.

"Bye Lincoln," she responded before hanging up.

After making his bed Lincoln settled down on the couch to play video games. Eventually it was one pm when he glanced at his watch. He rushed upstairs to grab his wallet and key.

It was a little after four pm when Rita returned with the girls attending the day camp. Lincoln had returned home just minutes before and was taking a nap.

At dinner Rita asked Lana while everyone enjoyed KFC fried chicken and mashed potatoes, "Lana I'm putting the air mattress in your room tonight because I want Lola back in the room."

Lana sighed, "Okay mom." She was slowly getting over the resentment towards Lola but still disapproved of her twin destroying Lincoln's plane.

Lincoln rose from his chair when he was finished and took his plate and utensils into the kitchen then got Charles leash.

Lincoln passed by Mrs. Hart's home while heading in the direction of Ketcham Park. Mrs. Hart was getting out of her car having just returned home from work. Lincoln smiled at her and said, "Good evening."

She was actually surprised that any Loud child would have any kind of manners and returned a little smile.

"Good evening are you Lincoln right?" she asked.

Yes I am, Lincoln replied

"Pleased to meet you, I'm Mrs. Hart," she added then Charles began straining on his leash.

"Nice meeting you Mrs. Hart," Lincoln said then walked away.

Mrs. Hart thought, "At least the boy has some discipline."

He returned from walking Charles twenty minutes later and spent the remainder of the evening watching TV on his laptop before going to bed.

The next two days passed by without incident. Lincoln still attending the fun computer classes with Liam and Lola's fear of her brother was vanishing a little. On Thursday morning Lynn Sr. informed his family the restaurant would be closed thirty minutes earlier that night.

"Good I'll discuss the Kurt Stonewall matter with him tonight," Rita mused.

That evening Rita was reading in bed when Lynn Sr. finally arrived home. The children were all safely in their bedrooms at present.

"I'm so glad your home dear," Rita greeted him.

"Hi honey," the father replied then kissed her left cheek, then removed his pajamas from a drawer from the dresser.

After Lynn Sr. showered, Rita waited patiently for him to get under the covers.

"Honey I need to talk about something important dad called me about," Rita began.

Her husband immediately became curious and asked, "Why was he calling?"

"Honey he called to ask me if both of us were interested in meeting some child expert who hosts a show called Family Rescue on the TULA network," Rita told him.

Lynn Sr. sported a puzzled look and asked, "TULA."

"It's a TV network on the Internet," Rita explained

"All right go on," he urged his wife.

"Well the host Kurt Stonewall also helps parents on the show and in person with maintaining discipline regarding their difficult and out of control kids. Dad told me he's also a former Marine. I googled his name online and found he studied Child Behavioral Studies at Michicago University. He also doesn't charge the parents anything," Rita continued.

"So your father wants us to consider hiring him to straighten out the girls," Lynn Sr. inquired.

"Yes honey," Rita responded

Her husband replied, "I'm not sure Rita with our schedules, it's going to be difficult to find the right time to meet him."

"Just take some time to think about it dear," Rita told him.

"All right dear I will," Lynn Sr. replied before tiredness overcame him.

"Good night Rita sweet dreams," he said.

"Good night honey," she replied before closing her book.

It was three a.m. Friday morning when Lori was disrupted from her slumber by Leni shouting but not loud enough for the others to hear.

"What the heck Leni," she thought puzzled then turned on her lamp and saw Leni with her sleep mask off and a frightened expression on her face.

"Lori I had a dream that Lola was sixteen and had a boyfriend who forgot their one month anniversary. She became angry and started stabbing him all over with a pencil, it was awful the police took her away and placed her in a mental hospital," Leni explained in a panicky voice.

"It's okay Leni," Lori began reassuring her upset sister.

"Suppose Lola goes crazy like Aunt Sylvia one day," Leni insisted.

"Like mom said let's hope it doesn't happen," Lori remarked.

Few seconds passed before Lori said, "Leni try and go back to sleep I'll keep the lamp on."

Two minutes later Leni had successfully fallen asleep.

A few hours later when everyone except Leni and Lincoln had woken up, while Luna stood in the bathroom line behind Lola, she suddenly felt a slight headache coming on. During breakfast the headache became more unbearable causing Luna to rub her temples which caught Rita's attention.

"Are you feeling okay Luna?" Rita asked quite concerned.

The third born squinted and said, "I'm getting a terrible headache Mom."

"Well you can't possibly go to day camp, take some ibuprofen right after you eat honey then get into bed," Rita replied.

Instantly, Lana and Lola decided to use the opportunity to beg permission to stay home as well.

"Can we stay home Mommy, please?" the twins pleaded in unison.

They both received a look that could wither a flower from RIta who replied, "Nice try girls, you're going to day camp."

"Dang it," the peeved girls thought in their minds.

Once the other morning routines were completed, the other girls except Lori gathered in the living room while Rita walked into Luna's room. The girl was laying on the lower bunk where Luan slept instead with a large glass of water and the aspirin on the side table.

"Here is my phone Luna, keep it on and I'll check on you later okay," Rita said lovingly then rested it beside the glass.

"Bye Mom," Luna responded.

When Lincoln finally woke up, he was surprised upon seeing Luna leaving the bathroom as he walked out of his bedroom.

"Luna what are you doing here, is everybody here?" he asked wide-eyed.

Luna answered in a nonchalant manner, "No bro, I got a headache so mom let me stay home today."

"Oh are you feeling okay now?" her brother inquired.

"Not quite my head is still pounding a little, but I'll take another ibuprofen right now," Luna replied.

Lincoln had some Zombie bran and fed Lana's pets before relaxing with a comic book. Around 12:00 p.m.

Luna who was sleeping for a long time awoke with her headache gone completely and feeling hungry. Luna was eating a ham and cheese sandwich on the couch as Lincoln came downstairs carrying a yellow envelope containing Stella's birthday card.

"Hey Luna I'm just heading out to meet the gang at Gus, see you later," he announced when he stood before her.

"Have fun little bro," Luna merely replied with a smile. She noticed the envelope in his right hand but didn't question him about it.

Lincoln locked the door behind him and rushed towards the bus stop.

Meanwhile at the restaurant, Lynn Sr. was taking a quick respite in his office from the hectic day. As he reclined in his office chair, he began recalling last night's discussion with Rita.

"Do we really need an outsider to help us with getting our children to behave properly?" he mused.

He then wondered, "But as a former Marine and child expert he could help us in certain ways especially with Lola, Luan and LJ."

"I'll tell Rita tonight to call Albert. I'm willing to meet this guy," he thought before rising to his feet to get back into the kitchen.


	31. Contacting Mr Stonewall

When Lincoln finally arrived at Gus, he rushed over to the gang's favorite booth but to his surprise Darren and Hillary who attended the computer classes with him were sitting with Stella Zach and Liam.

Lincoln greeted his friends with a simple, "Hi everyone," before sitting beside Stella.

"The card," he thought, suddenly remembering.

"Stella, here's something for you," he stated then handed her the envelope.

"Thank you Linc," she replied smiling then stored it in her jade colored handbag.

The friends began conversing amongst themselves.

"I got a text from girl Jordan saying she's coming home Thursday, and that she might convince her parents to let her host a party next Saturday," Zach said.

"I got the message too," Hillary, an African American girl replied

"So Lincoln how is your family?" Stella asked Lincoln.

Stella remained unaware of the situation regarding his sisters since Lincoln told his other friends not to mention the block party incident to her.

"Well they're doing fine," he replied rather nonchalantly.

"Hey how about we order some pizza?" Darren asked impatiently.

Meanwhile Luna was sitting at the dining table with a pencil in her right hand and frowning as she tried to think of something to write on a notepad.

"This is absolutely ridiculous," Luna muttered before ripping out a page from the notepad in frustration. Three days ago she decided to resume song writing after realizing her parents never told her she couldn't write songs when handing out the punishments weeks ago.

I just can't think of any lyrics," she declared.

Luna took some moments to calm down then said, "I should find something to cook before mom gets home."

Just as Luna was rising from her chair, Rita's phone rang and she grabbed it from the table.

"Hello mom," she answered

"Hi honey how are you feeling now?" Rita asked Luna.

"I'm feeling better mom," was Luna's reply

I'm so glad to hear that, listen I'm buying everyone pizza for dinner," Rita replied.

'That's great mom I was actually going to cook something," Luna told her.

'That was quite thoughtful of you, see you later," her mother said cheerfully then hung up.

Lincoln arrived home at six that evening his stomach already full from eating two slices of pizza at Gus. He greeted his sisters while they read in the living room with, "Hi everyone," before retreating to his bedroom. He grabbed the comic book he bought that week then joined his sisters. Nobody was sitting on the small sofa so he sat there and began reading.

Later a weary Lynn Sr. gratefully stepped out of Kotaro's vehicle. Thankfully Rita was still awake reading her novel when he walked into their bedroom. Rita greeted him with the usual, "Hi honey," then Lynn Sr. approached her side of the bed.

"Rita I've made up my mind about meeting Stonewall, call your dad and tell him I'm on board," Lynn Sr. announced

"That's wonderful honey," Rita declared happily before rising out of bed and embracing her husband, "I'll call dad tomorrow morning."

The following morning, Rita awoke to find a beam of sunlight shining in her face. Shielding her eyes from the light Rita pushed away the sheets and was prepared to get some breakfast when Lynn Sr. entering their bedroom.

"Morning honey," he greeted with a cheerful tone then added, "I made waffles for a change better get some before the girls take all."

"Thanks dear," she replied before pushing her feet into her slippers then headed out the door. Luckily three waffles remained which Rita had with blueberries and maple syrup. Lori ate breakfast earlier because she decided to start working at the restaurant Saturday mornings to keep her evenings free. While Rita and the other kids ate breakfast, Lynn Sr. came in the room dressed. Lori was sitting on the couch waiting for him.

"See you later honey," he told Rita before kissing her right cheek affectionately.

"Have a nice day," Rita replied.

There was complete silence for a few moments at the table while everyone enjoyed their breakfast. Rita began assigning chores

"Luan could you help Luna with the laundry, Lynn please mow the lawn, Lola you're doing the vacuuming and Lisa you're dusting the furniture."

More silence passed before Lincoln spoke.

"Mom I'd like to take Lana to a movie this afternoon is it okay?"

Lana's smiled broadly at the news

"Yes Lincoln," Rita replied.

"Thank you Lincoln," Lana replied jubilantly

Rita finished her last waffle then picked up her things and placed them in the sink. She rushed back to her bedroom and began dialing her father's number.

Seconds later Albert's phone rang when he stepped outside his bathroom after taking his morning shower. He became somewhat irritated by the ringing but answered the phone.

When Rita announced, "Hi dad," a soft smile appeared on his face.

"What's up sweetheart, is everything okay," Albert inquired

"No, I'm calling to say that Lynn has agreed to meet Mr. Stonewall. I'll email him right away," Rita said.

"That's good news," Albert declared

After saying 'Good bye dad," Rita ended the call and went straight to her laptop, found Mr. Stonewall's contact info on his website and began typing…

 _Dear Mr. Stonewall,_

 _My name is Mrs. Rita Loud and I'm writing on behalf of myself and my wonderful husband Lynn Loud. We have been married for twenty years and the parents of eleven children, one boy and ten girls. As you can imagine, we have our hands full juggling our jobs and paying the bills and spending time with them. Lynn just opened his own restaurant two months ago and is doing very well._

 _Our children especially our daughters are very strong willed individuals who take advantage of our "let the kids solve all their problems" style of parenting and allowing them to express themselves without any way they desire without criticism. Lincoln, 12 has more self-control than his sisters. He's somewhat rebellious but doesn't act like a brat._

 _Lori, 18 and Leni, 17 our first and second born, are always squabbling over clothing, sharing cosmetics or sharing closet space. Lori will be heading for Fairways College in a few weeks and Leni is a talented dressmaker._

 _Luna is a musician who always plays her music quite loudly but for some reason our neighbors haven't confronted us about the matter._

 _Luan 15 is our comedienne who is always playing pranks on her siblings, something we let slide. Her favorite holiday is April Fool's Day, that's when she goes completely over the top with pranks, or as she calls it "Prankocalypse."We only punished her one time and that was the year she managed to turn everyone except Lincoln and Leni blue when a trap was activated in the family van._

 _Lynn Jr., we call her Junior or LJ. She's turning 14 in three days. She is a star athlete at her middle school. We don't allow them to play sports in the house but Junior does it anyway. We reprimand her but she continues to do it. She has so many trophies we're literally running out of space to place them._

 _There's Lucy, 9 who happens to like the Gothic lifestyle, Lynn and I don't have a problem with it since as I said, we allow them freedom of expression. She's the quietest child out of all our children, Lincoln being the second._

 _Lana and Lola are seven year old twins. Lola competes in many child pageants and only lost one, my husband spoils her a little and we allow her to drive her princess car inside the house. She has ran over our neighbors flowers occasionally. Lana is our animal lover who owns a variety of pets._

 _Lisa is only five but she's a certified genius with an IQ of 200. She usually causes explosions inside the house, one time the couch was destroyed when one of her experiments failed._

 _Lastly there's Lily 2, she has a cheerful personality but tends to become temperamental on occasion._

 _There's one huge problem that all our daughters share, having explosive tempers. The ones with the worst tempers are Lori, Lynn Jr. and especially Lola. When they all get angry they're like a violent hurricane. Lynn and I are actually afraid of them when it happens. They fight each other physically over the pettiest reasons, especially what to watch on TV. Sometimes Lincoln is a part of the fights by either accident or his sisters get angry with him for whatever reason. One of the worst fights happened when Lori and Leni accidentally bought identical dresses._

 _Currently Lori, Luna, Luan, Junior, Lola and Lisa are under punishment for attacking a boy at a Fourth of July Block Party. Lola caused it when she grabbed a slice of cake the boy had first. They started quarrelling then the others girls started arguing with the boy. When he called them weirdos they jumped on him. When our neighbors stopped the fight, we sent them home immediately. One time Lana and Lola were selling lemonade and Lola scared someone into buying when they refused._

 _Even though Lynn and I have established new rules for our children to enforce discipline I'm afraid they will rebel against these new rules so that's why we're asking to meet with you._

 _Our address is 1216 Franklin Avenue, Royal Woods, Michigan 48067_

 _We look forward to hearing from you_

 _Rita and Lynn Loud_

Rita scanned the message, correcting every mistake and when she was satisfied hit the send button.

 **Will Mr. Stonewall reply to Rita's email.**


	32. It's Lynn Jr birthday

"Bye mom," Lincoln and Lana called to their mother as they walked towards the front door.

"Have a wonderful time at the movies," Rita called out. It was one pm and Rita was helping Luna, Lynn Jr. and Lola fold newly washed sheets and clothing in the living room while Leni was sitting at her sewing machine finishing a new blouse she started after breakfast. Lily was sitting in a corner of the living room playing with her block set. Lucy was somewhere writing poetry or reading. Luan was in her bedroom checking her messages on her Funny Business phone line for any invitations to perform at birthday parties from clients but there weren't any.

Luan walked over to her bed then sighed before laying her head on her pillow.

"I wonder how much longer is this punishment going to last," Luan thought.

Suddenly her thoughts turned to some close friends of hers.

"I wonder what Giggles and Benny are doing?" she mused.

It was exactly 4:30 p.m. when Lincoln and Lana returned home from the movies. Rita was working on her novel in the master bedroom while the other siblings were sitting around the dining table eating fish and chips Rita had ordered on the telephone from Penny's.

"How was the movie?" Luan asked her brother and sister with curiosity.

"It was very entertaining," Lana admitted.

Despite eating snacks at the movies, Lincoln and Lana were becoming hungry and headed into the kitchen to take their share of the food. Around six pm Lincoln had taken Charles for a walk after spending some time watching TV on his laptop

Sunday morning everyone enjoyed their late sleep-in. Last night Rita decided to talk to the children about Mr. Stonewall before they started their Sunday morning exercises after breakfast. Soon everyone finished eating breakfast but before anyone could leave the table, Rita stopped them.

"Kids one moment please, I'd like to bring this to your attention, a few days ago Pop-Pop called and asked if your father and I are interested to meet someone named Kurt Stonewall. He's a parenting expert who hosts a TV show on the Internet called Family Rescue. He helps parents with their out of control kids. Pop-Pop thought it would be a good idea for us to meet him help us," Rita explain

Suddenly Lola and Leni were enthusiastic about the idea of their family becoming TV stars

"EEEEE, I'm going to appear on TV, I cannot wait to gloat about it at school, Lindsay Sweetwater is gonna be furious," Lola declared smugly.

"I wonder what should I should totes wear," Leni chimed.

Rita called out, "Hold it, girls we're not appearing on the show."

Both girls became disappointed upon hearing the family would not be appearing on the show.

"You see, when Pop-Pop told me Mr. Stonewall also helps families privately your father and I agreed to meet him off screen," Rita explained.

"When is he coming," Lana inquired.

"We have to wait for him to respond to my email," Rita continued

Lori became a little skeptical about the idea and decided to voice her opinions.

"Are you sure about this Mom," Lori asked.

Definitely Lori Lynn Sr. replied

"Kids you can go now and change into your workout clothes," Rita told them.

When they completed their workout session, the family refreshed themselves and changed into their regular clothes. Lori and Luna washed the breakfast dishes while Lynn Jr. cleaned the kitchen counters. Lincoln and Lana decided to give Vanzilla a thorough cleaning job while Lynn Sr. kept himself occupied by reading the Sunday newspaper in the living room. The other girls tidied their bedrooms before getting some board games to play. Later on, the four oldest girls assisted their father with making dinner while Lincoln was holed up in his room playing a Muscle Fish video game and Lynn Jr., Lily and Lisa were taking naps.

At the moment Rita was walking Charles around the neighborhood with Lana, Lola and Lucy accompanying her. They didn't notice Teresa Hart peeking from her living room window as they passed the one story house. Her children Jeffrey and Susanna were currently away spending the remainder of the summer with their father which was an escape from all the restrictions Teresa placed on them.

###################################################################

"Luna could you tell everyone to come for dinner," Lynn Sr asked his daughter.

The Loud family were having roast chicken, scalloped potatoes made by Lori and a tomato and cucumber salad. Lincoln had actually dozed off in the middle of playing his video game and was jolted awake when Luna shouted from downstairs, "Dinners ready.

Lori was placing the roast chicken Lynn Sr. prepared in the center of the table when Lincoln and the other girls walked into the dining room. While Rita enjoyed her meal something told her to check her emails after dinner. A few minutes later Rita finished her meal and thanked the older girls for their part in making dinner before excusing herself from the table. She quickly logged on to her email account and noticed the second email was from Mr. Stonewall

 _Good afternoon Mr. and Mrs. Loud_

 _I'd like to thank you for contacting me about the situation regarding your children, I'm willing to meet you, your husband and your children this week but it depend on your family schedule. I'll be available on Thursday or Friday afternoon at four p.m. Looking forward to hearing from you._

 _Kurt Stonewall_

Rita logged off her computer then returned to help clear the table. Ten minutes later the parents were heading out to buy groceries and left Lori in charge.

"Good news dear," Rita said while buckling her seat belt, "Mr. Stonewall has responded to my email. He's available either Thursday or Friday at four in the afternoon but it depends on our schedule."

"We'll just have to figure out something," Lynn Sr. replied before turning the ignition key.

Later that night, the parents sat down at the dining table while the children slept soundly in their beds.

Lynn Sr. began, "Have you come to a decision Rita?"

Rita replied, "I think we could meet him Thursday, my last patient is coming at two thirty that afternoon."

"That's fine, I'll have Kotaro and Grant in the kitchen, I'll ask Kotaro if Michelle can come in and greet customers," Lynn Sr. said.

Michelle, Kotaro's 18 year old daughter had worked at the restaurant three times before during the summer holiday.

"Then I'll contact the employment agency on Tuesday and hire a couple of servers," he added

"Alright that's settled," Rita replied.

Her husband suddenly frowned a little then uttered, "Wait a minute, Lori leaves work at four."

"She'd just have to ask permission to leave earlier," Rita replied. A few moments elapsed between them until Lynn Sr. started yawning.

"I'll send him an email right away," Rita said before rising from her chair.

After entering the master bedroom with Lynn Sr, Rita logged on her laptop and started typing…

 _Mr. Stonewall,_

 _This is Rita Loud replying back to you. My husband and I have decided to meet you on Thursday at four pm. We thank you for showing an interest in helping our children become better behaved individuals. We look forward to seeing you then._

 _Rita Loud_

Monday was just an average day for the Louds. Lincoln departed for Gus at 11:50 a.m. to spend a few hours with Stella, Liam, Zach, and Darren. It was 4:15 when Lincoln glanced at his watch and told his friends, "See you Friday"

First he headed straight to the dollar store to purchase a birthday card for Lynn Jr. Even though Lynn Jr. bullied him occasionally it he felt it was an obligation to buy his sister a card.

That afternoon before assisting Luna with dinner, Rita wondered if Mr. Stonewall had replied to last night's email. She was about to start seasoning some tilapia.

Luna finish peeling the potatoes I'll be right back Rita told her daughter.

Rita quickly logged on and was lucky that the first email was from Mr. Stonewall.

 _Mr. and Mrs. Loud,_

 _Thank you for responding back to me. It will be my pleasure to meet you and your children on Thursday at four pm. I'm looking forward to helping your family._

 _Kurt Stonewall_

Tuesday morning

Lynn Jr. was jolted awake by the ringing of the alarm clock in her room. She yawned while stretching her arms above her head then glanced over at Lucy's bed with the dark sheets and noticed the occupant wasn't there.

"Lucy's up," she thought matter of factly, then she came to the realization that today was her fourteenth birthday.

"I hope dad changed his mind about making me a birthday breakfast," she mused. Suddenly Lynn became startled when Lucy entered their shared bedroom with her parents followed by Lincoln and the other sisters.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY LYNN," they cheered.

"Wow thanks everyone," Lynn replied with happiness

"Too bad you're not getting a birth…," Lola began but was quickly nudged by Lucy's right elbow before she could finish her sentence.

"Come down for breakfast," Rita told her.

Even though Lynn didn't receive a special breakfast but scrambled eggs and sausages like everybody else she received lots of birthday cards from her family.

 **A/N: I'm not making Benny Luan's boyfriend like what some fanfiction writers are doing now, he's just a friend because I'm not sure if the Loud House writers are intending to make them a couple during Season 4.**


	33. Mr Stonewall arrives

That evening the children settled down after dinner for some relaxation. Luna and Luan were just done washing up in the kitchen. Lana, Lola and Lily were coloring while the others were catching up on their reading when Rita entered the living room.

Rita addressed the children, "I'd like to speak with you for a moment kids."

They looked up from their activities to pay attention to her.

"Kids, yesterday I received an email from Mr. Stonewall. He's agreed to meet us on Thursday at four pm," she began.

The children remained eerily silent until Luan spoke, 'I didn't think he'll be coming so soon."

"School starts in three weeks so this is the best time for him to help us," Rita explained.

"Lori and Leni you'll have to ask Stephanie and Mrs. Carmichael permission to leave early I need you to get the house ready," Rita added.

Lori suddenly came up with an idea.

"Mom, since I haven't used any of my personal days I'll tell Stephanie I'm taking Thursday off," Lori said.

Rita smiled at the suggestion, "And Lincoln come home immediately after your computer classes."

"Yes mom," he dutifully replied.

"Dang it, now I can't go to the arcade," Lincoln thought regretfully.

Rita continued, "I'm picking you girls up at two because I arranged with Dr. Feinstein to take my two o'clock appointment so just wait for me in the waiting room."

"Would you have time to make us dinner?" Lola asked her mother quizzically.

"I'll order something from Penny's, mom," Lori suggested.

"I'd appreciate that Lori," Rita said before walking away.

Wednesday afternoon Rita and the girls attending day camp narrowly escaped getting caught in a thunderstorm that started minutes after they reached home. Lori informed her boss Stephanie she was taking a personal day on Thursday. Lynn Sr. explained to his employees that he was leaving early tomorrow because of an important person he and Rita were meeting at four then asked Kotaro to ask his daughter Michelle if she was available to work tomorrow. He was able to secure two ladies to wait tables from the employment agency to come in tomorrow morning for a quick training session.

Thursday 9: 45 a.m.

Lincoln walked downstairs still wearing his orange pajamas and Lori was standing at the stove making some French toast for herself when he entered the kitchen.

"Good morning Lori," Lincoln chirped then walked over to a cupboard and grabbed a box of Rice Krispies

"Morning Lincoln," Lori replied nonchalantly.

As Lincoln poured some of the toasted rice into his cereal bowl, Lori asked, "Could you assist me tidying up the house before you leave today?"

"Okay Lori but after I feed Lana's pets," Lincoln replied.

"Okay, could you vacuum both upstairs and downstairs, but not the bedrooms, then afterwards collect the trash, I'm cleaning the bathroom and putting up clean towels for our guest," Lori said.

Lincoln nodded in agreement before walking over to the refrigerator to take out the milk carton.

As the two siblings sat at the dining table enjoying their breakfast Lincoln asked Lori, "Anything else I should help you with after I take out the garbage?"

"No Lincoln," Lori told him.

Silence prevailed between them for a bit before Lincoln asked, "Lori what do you think Mr. Stonewall is going to be like?"

Lori merely shrugged her shoulders slightly and replied, ""I hope he isn't going to be one of those stern super nanny types."

When Lincoln finished eating he washed the bowl and spoon then fed Lana's pets afterwards he dragged the vacuum cleaner with the intention of vacuuming the upstairs hallway first. Immediately after breakfast Lori began the task of cleaning the bathroom.

Eleven a.m.

At the beautiful Royal Woods Hotel and Spa, a fellow in his early forties, standing six feet two inches tall and slightly muscular walked stridently towards the front desk pulling a dark green suitcase in his right hand and carried a brown briefcase in his left. He was sharply dressed in a light blue shirt and black pants.

Fritz the front desk clerk casually glanced upwards from his computer screen upon hearing his footsteps.

"Welcome Sir," Fritz greeted pleasantly then seconds later his jaw almost dropped to the floor upon realizing who the person was. He was an ardent fan of Family Rescue and watched the show whenever possible with his wife.

"Good afternoon Sir, my name is Fritz, how may I help you," he greeted calmly with a courteous smile.

"Hello I'm Kurt Stonewall checking in," the dark haired man replied.

Fritz maintained a professional air while checking the list of arrivals for the day on the computer. A few seconds later Fritz was handing the former Marine a hotel key.

"You're in room 218, Sir the elevator is to your left," Fritz instructed, 'Dinner is served in our café at five or you can order room service."

"Thank you Fritz," Kurt replied.

Immediately Mr. Stonewall entered the one bedroom suite, he placed his suitcase near the bed then gave a quick inspection of the entire suite. Satisfied about the cleanliness of the suite, Mr. Stonewall placed his briefcase on the computer desk then sat in the swivel chair. He opened his briefcase and removed a printed copy of the email Rita sent with the information about the Loud children.

Meanwhile Lincoln was finished vacuuming the downstairs carpet. Stowing the vacuum away in the basement Lincoln then rushed around collecting the garbage as Lori dusted the furniture. With their tasks finally completed, Lori found a vase used for special occasions and placed it on the coffee table.

"Everything's done," she remarked then breathed a sigh of relief.

Some minutes later Lori was parked on the couch watching a soap opera as Lincoln read a comic book, suddenly his reading was interrupted by Liam's mom car horn beeping. Lincoln leapt to his feet while throwing the comic on the bed, glanced quickly out the window, grabbed his bag then rushed downstairs. "Lincoln please get back on time," Lori reminded him.

"Don't worry I will," Lincoln replied back.

At 2:05 that sunny afternoon Rita entered the waiting area of the community center carrying Lily where the seven girls sat quietly. Lisa was absorbed reading a book while the others looked bored. The sisters looked up expectantly upon hearing Rita's voice.

"Girls let's go," Rita called out.

Lori was sitting on the couch filing her nails when Rita and the girls arrived home. The older girl had showered minutes after Lincoln departed.

"Hello Lori, is Leni home?" Rita greeted.

"Yes she's upstairs taking a shower, oh dinners here," Lori responded.

The other sisters dropped their bags carelessly on the floor then made a beeline towards the kitchen.

Lori left paper plates and plastic ware beside the spaghetti and meatball dinners. Rita poured lemonade into eight glasses as the girls began serving themselves.

It was two forty when Liam's mother arrived at the Loud residence.

"Bye Liam, Bye Mrs. Lafayette," Lincoln said before stepping out of the vehicle. Once inside, Lincoln washed his hands and warmed up his share of the dinner. After eating, Lincoln took a brief shower and just relaxed for a while playing a video game.

Three p.m.

Currently, there were only a few diners at Lynn's Table this time of day. An Uber cab was parked at the back entrance while Lynn Sr. stood in the kitchen handing out last minute instructions to his employees.

"All right gentlemen, my rides here, I'm depending on you to keep down the fort," Lynn said

"Will do Lynn," Kotaro replied, his daughter Michelle had arrived five minutes ago.

Not wanting for the Uber driver to wait any longer Lynn Sr. rushed out the back entrance.

Later that day

Lynn Sr. stood in front of the dresser mirror putting on a green tie while Rita brushed her hair. Rita had requested her husband wear an appropriate tie instead of the 'fun' ones he preferred wearing. Rita smiled approvingly at him before glancing at her watch. She was dressed in a light purple blouse and black pants and low wedge black sandals.

"Look at the time," she thought before heading out of the room

Seeing that none of the children were present downstairs Rita stood at the stairs landing.

"Kids hurry up, Mr. Stonewall is coming in five minutes," Rita yelled.

In seconds the children came downstairs and seated themselves in the living room with Luna holding Lily on her lap. The toddler was dressed for once wearing a purple dress while the others wore different outfits from what they normally wore.

"All right kids I want you to be respectful to Mr. Stonewall when he comes, when he asks you to introduce yourselves shake his hand," Rita instructed

"Yes mom," they said in unison.

Kurt Stonewall finally reached his destination on Franklin Avenue. Once he stepped out of the rental car he hired at the airport he placed a pair of sunglasses on his eyes to protect them from the sun's glare.

He glanced around, his eyes finally landing on the two-story home, the lawn no longer littered with the sister's toys and bicycles since Rita picked them up and stored them in the garage weeks ago. The former Marine's keen eye noticed a loose shingle on the roof and the slightly worn garage door.

"The house is really in need of repairs," Kurt muttered.

He started walking up the pathway towards the house. He rang the doorbell. A few months before the bell was repaired due to a malfunction that caused anyone ringing the bell to receive a shock.

"That must be him," she uttered, then shot towards the front door and opened it.


End file.
